Nadda demands CBI probe into murder of Hubballi students

Hubballi (Karnataka), Apr 21 (PTI) National BJP president JP Nadda on Sunday demanded a CBI probe into the murder of 23-year-old student Neha Hiremath here recently.

Neha, daughter of Congress corporator Niranjan Hiremath, was stabbed to death by her former classmate on the premises of her college in Dharwad on April 18, triggering widespread protests.

Nadda visited Neha Hiremath’s house and expressed her condolences to her family. He later said that the BJP will cooperate if the investigation of the case has to be handed over to the CBI so that the victim gets justice.

Addressing reporters, Nadda said, “I have offered my condolences to the family and have come here to assist them in this hour of grief.” “From what I heard from her (Neha’s) father and the way her mother narrated the incident, it is such a heartbreaking incident…,” he added.

The BJP chief condemned the incident and assured justice for the family of the deceased.

He took exception to the statements of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G Parameshwara, saying it would “influence and dilute” the investigation.

If the state police were unable to complete the investigation into the case, Nadda said he would request the state government to transfer the case to the CBI.

“If the state government wants, they can refer the case to the CBI and the BJP will cooperate so that this innocent girl gets justice, humanity gets justice and such incidents don’t happen in future… even her father has demanded a CBI probe as he has no confidence in the state police and wants the investigation into his daughter’s murder to be handed over to the CBI,” Nadda said.

The incident culminated in a political slugfest between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP in Karnataka.

While the ruling party has tried to portray it as an “incident with a personal angle”, the saffron party suspects a “love jihad” and says it points to the “deterioration of law and order” in the state. PTI

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