Niranjan Hiremath, the father of Neha Hiremath who was murdered in Karnataka’s Hubballi, demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI alleging that the police were trying to “divert” the case.

Niranjan Hiremath, who is a Congress councillor of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation, also demanded the transfer of the police commissioner in charge of the case for alleged “negligence”, news agency ANI reported.

“I have given the names of eight persons openly. They have not even caught one person. I am losing faith now. They are trying to divert my case. Give it to the CBI if you cannot do it. The commissioner in this case is a lady, even then she is not taking a girl’s murder seriously… She is working under some pressure. I demand the commissioner should be transferred for negligence in the case. I demand that the case should be given to the CBI,” ANI quoted Niranjan Hiremath as saying on Sunday.

Reacting to Niranjan Hiremath’s qualms, Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell head Amit Malviya blamed the Congress government in Karnataka for being “soft and slow” on the “killer(s)”.

“No Congress leader has visited Niranjan Hiremath, father of slain Neha Hiremath, who was stabbed to death by Fayaz. The helpless father now blames Congress Govt in Karnataka for being soft and slow on his daughter’s killer(s). As if daughter’s murder wasn’t enough, the family has to deal with Congress’s appeasement politics too. Will Neha ever get justice?” Amit Malviya on social media X (formally).

The murder of Karnataka college student Neha Hiremath by her former classmate Fayaz Khondunaik has triggered a political row, with BJP terming it a case of “love jihad”, while the Congress has denied the allegation. Demands for capital punishment for Fayaz, the accused, have led to protests across Karnataka.

BJP president JP Nadda accused chief minister Siddaramaiah and state home minister G Parameshwara of “influencing and diluting” the investigation into the murder of Neha Hiremath. Neha was stabbed to death by Fayaz on the campus of BVB College on April 18. “Look at the statements of Siddaramaiah and Parameshwara. Some say it’s a normal incident, others call it an accident. You want to influence and dilute the investigation. You don’t have the courage to call a spade a spade due to your appeasement politics,” JP Nadda alleged, addressing a public meeting here in Hubballi.

Earlier on Sunday, former Karnataka chief minister and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa expressed his concerns about the Congress government’s response saying, “The state government is not bothered about anything. They are not taking it seriously.”

(With inputs from agencies)