Neha Hiremath, daughter of Congress corporator Niranjan Hiremath from Hubballi, was stabbed to death by Fayaz as she rejected his love proposal. The father of the victim, Niranjan Hiremath, claims that it is a case of 'Love Jihad'; on the other hand, the government considers it to be a personal matter and has nothing to do with Love Jihad.
Who is Neha Hiremath?
Neha is a 23-year-old daughter of a Congress corporator who was a Computer Applications (MCA) degree student at BVB College in Hubballi. It is said that the accused Fayaz Khondunaik and Neha Hiremath were in love. Later, Neha started avoiding him and rejecting him, which triggered him to kill her.
Niranjan Hiremath, who is Neha's father, has accused Fayaz of stalking her. However, the exact status of the relationship between Neha and Fayaz is still unknown. There are rumors that she rejected him when he proposed, while others say that they were in a relationship and later on she began to avoid him.
Neha Hiremath Murder Case:
Fayaz couldn't tolerate the turn down of Neha and made up his mind to kill her. On April 18, Fayaz went to college with a knife and waited for her to complete the exam.
After spotting her alone inside the campus, Fayaz who was masked took the hidden knife and stabbed her 7 to 8 times around 3.30 pm and flew from the scene.
Shocked by the scene, the witnessed took Neha to the hospital immediately, but she died on her way to the Hospital. The entire crime scene was caught in CCTV footage, and police arrested the accused, Fayaz, within two hours after the attack.
Neha's father, Niranjan Hiremath, said, "The motive of the murder is that the victim rejected the accused's love proposal... We had a conversation with the accused before the incident took place where we explained to him that we are Hindu and you are Muslim, so we cannot allow you to get married."
'Love Jihad' and Politics:
The BJP accused the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government of prioritizing politics of appeasement over law and order. The Government refused the allegations, and Parameshwara Home Minister said
"Maybe he stabbed her because she was to marry someone else, but I don't know the details yet. But since it was a mutual relationship, it doesn't seem to be a case of love jihad."
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar accused the BJP, "BJP is trying to threaten by showing that there is no law and order in Karnataka. Karnataka has the best law and order. They are just trying to tell the voters that they will put Governor's Rule in the state. They cannot do it. The law will take its own course for everyone,"
ABVP Protest For Neha:
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) held a protest against the accused, voiced justice for Neha, and called out other college students to do the same. The protest brought attention to the media and stressed the government to take immediate action.
This is not the first case of killing in the name of love. Over time, numerous cases lost their significance and were forgotten. People hope protests change history and that the accused should be punished severely for this type of crime. Will the government be able to bring justice to Neha?
In this tense situation, the hashtag Justice for Neha is trending in Social Media, and people are frustrated by the crime and wish this type of crime would never happen again.
