Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday, April 22 announced that the government would transfer the Neha Hiremath murder case to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) and establish a special court for a speedy trial.
"We have decided to give it to the CID. We will set up a special court for it so that the charge sheet can be filed in a time-bound manner and the case can be disposed off…I have not been able to go to her residence. Our district in-charge Minister and party workers had gone. Also HK Patil is going. I will go when I go there,” Siddaramaiah said while speaking to the media at Shivamogga airport.
On April 18, Neha Hiremath, a first-year MCA student at the KLE Technological University in Hubballi, was fatally stabbed by her former classmate, Fayaz, on campus. The police arrested Fayaz in a few hours and presented him before a magistrate. The accused is remanded to 14-day judicial custody.
The murder case has ignited widespread public outrage and become a focal point of debate between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP. While the Congress has portrayed it as a personal matter, the BJP has labelled it a case of "love jihad." The Opposition has alleged that the law and order in the state is deteriorating under the Congress.
BJP-affiliated student groups, such as the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad along with other Hindutva organisations have organised protests demanding justice and advocating for severe punishment for the accused. Anjuman-e-Islam, a Muslim organisation based in Hubballi announced a bandh in the city April 22, condemning the murder and calling for stringent punishment for Neha's killer.