"Spoke to public prosecutor to seek stringent punishment...": Siddaramaiah on Neha Hiremath's murder case

He stated that Amit Shah has referred to Neha Hiremath's murder as a case of love jihad to play politics.

"Whatever he is saying is because of politics. We caught the accused immediately, we also spoke to the public prosecutor to seek stringent punishment for him. He is calling the incident as love jihad because he wants to play politics...what has he done in Manipur," he said.

During a rally in Hubballi city, Amit Shah criticised the Congress and questioned their handling of the Neha Hiremath murder case. He accused them of neglecting security for girls on educational campuses and added that if they are not capable, they should leave the seat of power.

Neha (21) was stabbed to death allegedly by her former classmate, Fayaz Khodunaik, on April 18 at the campus of KLE Technological University in Hubballi Dharwad, where she was a first-year MCA student.

Her father, Niranjan Hiremath, is the Congress Councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation.

The police arrested Fayaz within hours of the incident and produced him before a magistrate, who sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

The CID took Fayaz's custody and was later brought to Hubballi from Dharwad.

While a police investigation suggests Neha and Fayaz were in a relationship, her family members have said that he was pestering her and that she had rejected his marriage proposal.

The case also sparked protests across the country.

BJP has attacked the Siddaramaiah government over the incident and has demanded a CBI probe.

Earlier, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said that the government strongly condemns the murder of Neha Hiremath and that the CID investigation has been expedited to punish the accused.

"When I was CM earlier, I had handed over cases to the CBI. What moral right do they have to ask? Let them not indulge in politics with the case," he said.

Earlier, Congress General Secretary and Karnataka-in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala also visited Neha Hiremath's family and assured them of justice. (ANI)