Karnataka: Days After Neha Hiremath Murder, Muslim Youth Arrested In Hubbali For Assaulting Hindu Girl

Karnataka News: A Muslim man has been arrested in Karnataka's Hubballi for allegedly assaulting a Hindu girl who says she decided to end her 'friendship' with the accused following the murder of Neha Hiremath, who was allegedly murdered by her former classmate on the premises of her college, news agency IANS reported on Monday. The apprehended individual has been identified as Aftab, a fruit seller, the police said. An investigation into the matter has been initiated, Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner Renuka Sukumar informed.

As per the girl's account, she became acquainted with Aftab through a female Muslim classmate. "Aftab has been pursuing me for two years. He had gifted bags and other articles. I tried to be friends with him. However, after the Neha murder case, I began having apprehensions about Aftab's intentions and told him to end all ties between us," the alleged victim was quoted as saying by IANS.

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She added, "He asked me to return all the gifts that he had given. When I came to return the gifts and told him to end the friendship, he assaulted me and hit my head in a public place." Aftab purportedly set ablaze the gifts returned by the girl. "The passers-by came to my assistance after noticing that I was being assaulted, and they took Aftab away," she said.

An eyewitness of the alleged assault said that he suddenly noticed that a young girl was being attacked in broad daylight. "I rushed to her help and pushed him away. He was holding a knife," he said. In her complaint to the police, the girl has claimed that Aftab had forcefully gifted her the items that she went to return. She also alleged that he was forcing her to continue the relationship.

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Neha Hiremath Murder Case

Neha Hiremath, who was the daughter of a Congress corporator, was allegedly stabbed by Fayaz on her college premises in Hubbali earlier this month. The murder has resulted in a massive public outcry, with right-wing social and political outfits calling the incident a case of "love jihad". The police investigation into Neha's murder has established that the victim and the accused used to be in a relationship but Neha had been avoiding Fayaz as of late.

While the Congress has tried to project the murder as an "incident with a personal angle", the BJP asserts that it is a case of "love jihad". Niranjan Hiremath, Congress leader and Neha's father, agrees with the BJP's assertion that religious fanaticism is the cause behind his daughter's killing.

(With inputs from IANS)