Rejection & Rage: What Murder Of Hubballi's Neha Hiremath Tells Us

A 24-year-old woman from Hubballi, Karnataka, was hacked to death at her college campus on April 18. Neha Hiremath, a student of BVB College, was killed in broad daylight by her senior and jilted lover Fayazz, who allegedly could not handle her rejection. Hiremath was rushed to KIMS Hospital where she succumbed to the deep wounds. “It looks like a love reject case which forced him to act. We are also inquiring with friends and relatives of Neha to get more details on the motive of the murder,” a police officer told The New Indian Express. Fayazz, who fled the scene after the attack, was arrested a few hours later.

Neha Hiremath was the daughter of a Congress corporator. The murder has caused a huge political stir in the region and opposition leaders and ABVP members have held protests demanding strict action against the accused. 

Rejections Turning Into Rage, Time And Time Again

Police found out that Neha Hiremath's killer, Fayazz, had been pestering the victim for several months and once threatened to "finish" her if she rejected his proposal. This is not the first time that women have faced grave crimes at the hands of jilted lovers. 

The deceased's father has alleged that his daughter's murder is a 'Love Jihad' case. Niranjan Hiremath, a Congress corporator, said that the accused had planned to "trap his daughter." He further added, "The gang had conspired for a long time. They had planned either to trap her or to execute her. They have been threatening her in that backdrop. However, the girl had not heeded to their threats." 

"The whole state and country witnessed what happened to my daughter. If they say that it is personal, what is personal in this? Are they my relatives?" Hiremath added. 

As protests rage across the state seeking strict punishment for Fayaz, his mother sought forgiveness and said that what her son did was wrong.

"On behalf of my son, I seek forgiveness from all 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," Mumtaz, Fayaz's mother, said.

Rejection is not easy to handle. It breaks our hearts, and dreams, blurs our vision of the future and sometimes affects our self-esteem. But rejection is not just about one person. It is a process that involves two people- including the one who rejects it. 

It is unfair to get so blinded by the feelings emanating out of rejections that we forget about the existence of the other person. We need to respect the other person's choices and feelings too.

Rather than villainising or labelling them as cruel, we must understand that no relationship can continue out of force. But our society, sadly, is still not ready to deal with rejections. They resort to extreme steps like murder or dying by suicide. 

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Views expressed are the author's own.