Father of Karnataka murders accused

Neha Hiremath was stabbed seven times by Fayaz Khondunaik after she rejected his advances.

Hubali, Karnataka:

Demanding the harshest punishment for his son, the father of 23-year-old Faiyaz, who allegedly killed the daughter of an MP at a university campus in Hubballi, has apologized to the victim’s family and said His son should be severely punished.

Baba Saheb Subani, a school teacher and Faiyaz’s father, told the media on Saturday that he learned about the incident at around 6 pm on Thursday and was completely shocked by his son’s behavior and collapse.

“He (Faiyaz) should be punished so that no one dares to do anything like this in the future. I fold my hands and apologize to Neha’s family. She is like my daughter,” he said tearfully.

Subani said he and his wife had been separated for the past six years and that Faiyaz lived with his mother and called him whenever he needed money. He last spoke to his son three months ago.

Faiyaz’s father recalled that about eight months ago, Neha Shiremas’ family called him to tell him that his son was molesting their daughter. He admitted that his son had made a mistake and said that Faiyaz and Neha loved each other and were in a relationship.

“Faiyaz told me he wanted to marry her but I said no with folded hands,” he added.

Faiyaz’s father condemned his son’s actions and said no one should commit such atrocities against women. “I request the people of Karnataka to forgive me. My son has done something wrong. He will be punished under the laws of the land and I welcome that. My town has been tarnished because of my son. People of Munawarli (Faiyaz’s hometown) please forgive me,” he cried with folded hands.

However, the victim’s family has been demanding that the defendant be hanged so that his daughter’s soul can rest in peace. They maintained that their daughter had no relationship with Fayaz and said the accused stabbed Neha because she rejected his marriage proposal.

Protests broke out in several parts of the state, demanding the death penalty for Faiyaz, who was arrested in connection with the April 18 incident.

The daughter of a city corporation councilor was allegedly murdered on a college campus, triggering widespread condemnation and protests.

The issue has snowballed into a political standoff between the ruling Congress party and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka state. While the ruling party tried to portray it as a “personal angle incident”, the saffron party doubted “love jihad” and said it showed the “deterioration of law and order” in the state.

Neha was allegedly stabbed to death on the BVB College campus on Thursday.

The defendant, Faiyaz Kundunaik, who fled the scene, was later arrested by the police.

Neha is a first-year MCA student and Fayaz is her former classmate.

According to a senior police officer, Fayaz allegedly stabbed her multiple times. During the trial, he claimed the pair had been dating but she had been avoiding him recently.

“This needs to be confirmed and verified, but he was arrested immediately,” the official said. PTI amplifier SDP

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)