A large number of women taking part in the protest rally in Belagavi.
Photo Credits: Louis Rodrigues
BELAGAVI
The brutal murder of a college girl inside the campus of a private college at Hubballi by her classmate has rocked the Hubballi-Belagavi region, with women groups in Belagavi on Monday staging a huge rally to demand the death penalty of the youth who is in judicial custody.
Neha Hiremath, a 23-year-old Masters of Computer Applications (MCA) student, was stabbed to death by her former classmate Fayaz Khondunaik on the campus of BVB College in Hubballi on April 18. The attack was caught on CCTV footage. While Fayaz was arrested later, Neha’s death sparked a row between the BJP and Congress.
While protests are being held across Karnataka against the incident, various women organisations who had gathered in large numbers staged a mammoth protest rally.
Demands were made that the accused should be given capital punishment or else he should be handed over to the organisations.
The protestors alleged that lives of many young women like Neha Hiremath are in danger today, and the Karnataka government is not protecting women in the State.
The procession started from Dharamveer Sambhaji Chowk and halted at Channamma Chowk via College Road. On this occasion, a petition was submitted to the government on behalf of various organisations through the district collector.
Meanwhile, some groups have urged citizens not to politicise the issue amid the ongoing campaigning for the parliamentary elections. However, in the wake of the parliamentary elections, the incident, the BJP is trying to corner the Congress which is in a dilemma over this issue.
