'Fayaz Was Under Depression... Neha Took His Number': Karnataka Murder Accused's Mom Refutes 'Love Jihad' Claim

The mother of 23-year-old Fayaz, who allegedly stabbed a Congress Corporator’s daughter to death, has for the first time spoken to the media, even as deceased’s father claimed that ‘love jihad‘ was the motive behind the murder.

“Fayaz was under depression. He was sitting at home for one and a half years,” Mumtaz, the MCA dropout accused’s mother, told News18 Kannada.

Refuting Niranjan Hiremath’s claim of an attempt of forced marital religious conversion, Mumtaz told reporters that Neha and Fayaz “were in love”.

The mother claimed that the deceased herself took Fayaz’s number when he became ‘University Blue’ in a body-building competition, and “she made the first move”. “They were in love with each other… I have known about this for the last year,” Mumtaz told reporters.

Fayaz’s mother, however, accepted that what her son did was wrong, and demanded that he be punished severely as per the rule of the land.

A report in India Today quoted a tearful Mumtaz as saying, “On behalf of my son, I seek forgiveness from all the people of Karnataka. I seek forgiveness from the parents of the girl as well. She is also like my daughter.”

“I am not differentiating here at all. I know how they must be grieving. I am equally sorrowful. What my son did is wrong. No matter who it is, what is done is wrong,” she was quoted.

Earlier on Saturday, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had also asserted that there was “no love jihad” angle surrounding the murder of Congress Corporator Niranjan Hiremath’s daughter. He added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was using the case for “political gains”.

“It’s not love jihad. I condemn Neha’s murder. We have already arrested him. We are trying to ensure strict punishment to the accused. Murder has happened during different times as well, one cannot deny that. It doesn’t mean that we haven’t taken law and order seriously. We have taken it very seriously. Other states don’t have the same peaceful system like in Karnataka. Be whatever incident, murder, robbery we condemn it and ensure punishment to them under the law. BJP is using this for their politics. A political party is using death for their politics is condemnable. It shouldn’t be used for politics,” Siddaramaiah said.

A senior police officer had on Friday said, “During interrogation, Fayaz claimed that the two of them had been in a relationship and that she had suddenly started avoiding him. It needs to be corroborated and verified, but he was arrested immediately.”

Neha’s father Niranjan Hiremath, however, claimed, “He (the accused) was an old student and he had proposed my daughter but she rejected his proposal. She did not like him and she usually stayed away from all this…She refused him saying they both belonged to different caste and that she did not wish to have any relationship with him. Out of anger, he stabbed my daughter.”

“If this is not Love Jihad, then what is?” Hiremath asked, adding that forced marital religious conversions have been spreading a lot.

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