Neha Hiremath murder case: Hubballi court rejects bail plea of accused

Hubballi: The First Additional District and Sessions Court, here on Monday, rejected the bail plea of Fayaz Khondunayak, who was accused of murdering MCA student Neha Hiremath on the college campus, last April.

Judge Pallavi B R rejected the plea on Monday. Special public prosecutor Mahesh Vaidya and Raghavendra Muttagikar argued for the prosecution and Neha's family, while Z M Hattaraki was Fayaz's lawyer. 

Fayaz stabbed Neha Hiremath to death on B V Bhoomraddi College of Engineering (BVB) campus on April 18 last year before fleeing. The Vidyanagar police arrested the suspect the same evening. The government had handed over the case to the CID.

"Advocates of the accused had sought bail for him, claiming that the arrest process was not correct. However, we argued that laws were followed during the arrest. After hearing, the court rejected the bail application. The court will decide the date of trial on August 6," Mahesh Vaidya told reporters.

Neha's father Niranjanayya Hiremath, a Congress corporator, expressed happiness and sought a speedy trial.

Earlier in the day, Shri Ram Sena activists took out a rally in the city, and submitted a memorandum to the government, demanding the death sentence for the accused.

Sena chief Pramod Muthalik alleged that cruel forces were behind those who argued for the accused, and he also said a probe should be conducted about the source of money they were getting.