Shivamogga:

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said his government has decided to hand over the Hubli student murder case to the Criminal Investigation Department and set up a special court for its speedy disposal.

Neha Hiremath (23), daughter of Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation Congress councilor Niranjan Hiremath, was stabbed to death in the BVB College campus on Thursday. The accused Fayaz Khondunaik fled from the spot, who was later arrested by the police.

Neha Hiremath was a first year Master of Computer Applications (MCA) student and Faiyaz was previously her classmate.

“Hubli incident, we have decided to give it to CID. We will set up a special court for it. The charge sheet has to be filed in a time bound manner and the case has to be disposed of, so a special court (will be constituted) Siddaramaiah told reporters, “I strongly condemn the murder of Neha.” Home Minister Dr. G Parameshwara said the CID would submit its report in 12 days.

“The CID team will go to Hubli today and take over the case from the district police,” the minister said.

He said that some people suspect more people to be involved in this.

“Whatever the case may be, the CID will investigate and submit its report in 10 to 12 days. We have set this deadline. They cannot take months to investigate it. I am sure the victim’s parents Will get justice and the truth will come out,” said Dr G Parameshwara.

Meanwhile, in response to a question, the Chief Minister said, “I have not been able to go to their (parents’) residence. The minister and party workers in charge of our district had gone. HK Patil (Law Minister) is also going. “Whenever I go there (Hubli), I will go.” Siddaramaiah said that there has been a decline in crime cases during the Congress rule. “In 2023 (Congress rule) it was 1,295 (crime cases), during the four years of BJP from 2019-22 it was 1,300, 1,318, 1,342, 1,370 respectively,” he said.

The murder case, which has sparked widespread outrage, has turned into a political tussle between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP. While the ruling party says the motive for the murder was personal, the saffron party has termed it a case of “love jihad”, claiming it is evidence of the alleged breakdown of law and order in the state.

BJP’s student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and other organizations associated with Hindutva organizations have held protests demanding justice and strict punishment for the accused. Similar protests have been reported at several other places.

Home Minister Parameshwara accused the BJP of stooping low in its statements against him and the Chief Minister regarding the case.

“If they are using it for political gains, they will be disappointed. Their reaction shows that they are in panic because people are abandoning them (in the Lok Sabha elections),” he said.

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