A Muslim man was arrested in Hubballi, Karnataka for assaulting a Hindu girl who wanted to end their friendship in the wake of Neha Hiremath’s murder, according to media reports.
The arrested individual, a fruit vendor, identified as Aftab was reported to the authorities by the victim. She recounted being accustomed to him through another Muslim classmate.
The girl narrated her trauma to the police. She stated that Aftab was in a relationship with her for two years, and gifted her presents. However, after the tragic incident involving Neha, she got to know about Aftab’s motives and decided to cut ties with him.
Upon confronting him, Aftab allegedly turned violent, assaulting her with a heavy object on the street in broad daylight.
She said that Aftab proceeded to burn the gifts she returned on the roadside. She asserted, ‘When bystanders witnessed the attack they rushed to help me and pulled Aftab away’.
One of the witnesses who intervened to thwart the alleged assault described the scene of a boy attacking a girl in broad daylight at a public location.
‘I hurried to help her and pushed him aside’, he said. He also noted that the assailant, Aftab, had a knife.
Further the victim complained to the police, saying that Aftab had forcefully gifted her bags and other items and had pressured her to maintain the relationship. An investigation into the incident has been started by the police. Renuka Sukumar, the Hubli-Dharwad Police Commissioner, confirmed the arrest of the accused, Aftab, in connection to the case.
The murder of Neha, the daughter of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation’s Congress Councillor Niranjan Hiremath, has brought widespread attention. CCTV footage depicts Fayaz, the accused, repeatedly stabbing Neha on her college campus before fleeing. Subsequently, he was apprehended by authorities.
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