Shivamogga, 22 April

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said his government has decided to hand over the Hubballi student murder case to the Crime Investigation Department and that a special court will be set up for its speedy disposal.

Neha Hiremath (23), daughter of Congress councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Niranjan Hiremath, was allegedly stabbed to death on the campus of BVB College on Thursday. The accused Fayaz Khondunaik, who fled from the scene, was arrested by the police subsequently. Neha was a first year Master of Computer Application (MCA) student and Fayaz was earlier her classmate.

"We have decided to give it to the CoD (CID). We will set up a special court for it. Charge sheet has to be filed in a time-bound manner and the case has to be disposed off, so the special court," Siddaramaiah said.

Responding to a question from a reporter, he said, "I have not been able to go to her (parent's) residence. Our district in-charge Minister and party workers had gone. Also HK Patil (Law Minister) is going. I will go when I go there (Hubballi)."

The murder case, which sparked widespread outrage, has snowballed into a political slugfest between the ruling Congress and opposition BJP. While the ruling party has tried to project it as an incident with a personal angle, the saffron party has called it a "love jihad" case and said it's a testimony of the deterioration of law and order in the state.

BJP's student wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and other organisations aligned to Hindutva outfits have staged protests demanding justice, and called for severe punishment for the accused. Similar protests have been reported in various other places.

Crime cases have come down during Congress rule, the Chief Minister claimed, "In 2023 (Congress rule) it was 1,295 (crime cases). From 2019-2022, during four years of BJP, it was 1,300, 1,318, 1,342 and 1,370 respectively." "We will give protection to everyone during our tenure. I strongly condemn Neha's murder. We are forming a special court, and we have given the matter to COD (CID to investigate). Neha's father has spoken about involvement of four more suspects, I have asked for it also to be investigated," he added.