Niranjan Hiremath, father of Neha Hiremath who was brutally murdered in Hubbali last month, sought votes in favour of Congress nominee from Belagavi Mrinal Hebbalkar.
Mr. Hiremath and his wife Geeta Hiremath met Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar and mother of Mrinal Hebbalkar in Belagavi on Thursday.
Mr. Hiremath, who is a Congress leader and HDMC member from Hubballi, said that he was relieved that Ms. Hebbalkar stands by him in his difficult times.
“She visited our family on the third day of the incident. She promised to help me at the State-level and get justice for my family. However, I will need someone to raise my voice in Parliament. That is why I am supporting Mrinal Hebbalkar. I am sure he will support me as he is a leader of the Veerashaiva Lingayat community,” he told reporters.
“I am grateful to Ms. Hebbalkar. She spoke to us, collected all information and conveyed it to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. It was because of her insistence that the government handed over the case to CID and announced constitution of a fast-track court for speedy trial. The Chief Minister visited my house on the sixth day after the crime and expressed solidarity with us,” he said.
To a query, he said that his stand has not changed since the incident. “A lot of national and State-level leaders met me and my family to console us. I have only sought justice for my daughter from all of them,” he said.
He denied allegations of playing politics over the issue. He said that his family is pained by what happened to his daughter. However, it is wrong to lay the blame on any community.
“It is election time and nobody should send any adverse message against any individual or community. We have all seen that leaders of all parties and communities, including Muslims, have strongly condemned the incident and fought for justice for my daughter,” he said.
He said that his initial reactions were filled with emotions and he feared that he was not getting swift justice. “That is then that I expressed against the Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. However, I soon realised that the State government was responding quickly and as per law,” he said.
He said that he and his family members were shocked over the Hassan scandal. “I think it is the worst scandal in the country and the lives of innumerable women have been ruined. People like Prajwal Revanna should be punished by the law and by the people by defeating them in polls,” he said.
Ms. Hebbalkar, MLC Channaraj Hattiholi and other leaders were present.
