Neha Hiremath was the daughter of Congress corporator Niranjan Hiremath whose brutal murder created a massive Love Jihad controversy in Hubbali, Karnataka.

The 22 year old was a student of MCA first year in BVB College, Hubbali, Karnataka where on 18 April 2024 she was stabbed to death in a gruesome manner.

The murderer is identified as Fayaz Khondunaik who is reported to be her ex-lover.

The duo is seen in some candid pictures with each other, showing the claims of them being in a relationship in past.

However, during second year of BCA from the same college, Neha and Fayaz became infamous in their college for causing embarrassment on college campus. Their parents were summoned by the college authorities. 

Raised in a compromisingly secular Congress environment, Neha was then counselled by her friends about the case studies of women who enter into interfaith relation with Muslim men.

Jolted to know abut Shraddha murder case, Sakshi murder case and connecting the attributes to the nature of Fayaz, Neha was convinced that she had made a mistake in choosing her partner.

Consequently Neha broke all ties with Fayaz and decided to move on in her life. For the final year of her graduation, Fayaz kept on stalking her which turned futile. 

The stalking was so dangerous that Neha had to confine herself at home- not because of her own family but due to the threat posed by Mohammed Fayaz.

Her father, still an ardent Congressman following the party line of negating Love Jihad movement and not participating in any acts that could expose Love Jihad's truth, didn't bother to take legal action. He rather chose to speak to Fayaz's parents to control their son.

This protocol didn't last long and Fayaz came out with brutal plans.

When Neha came back for post-graduate studies, Fayaz had not stopped stalking her through all means of communication. Yet Neha did not give any encouragement.

The anguish of constant rejection and the fear of Neha revealing his weak nerves to everybody made Fayaz even more frustrated. 

Further, losing a golden goose as Neha being a politician's daughter was a financial loss to Fayaz, who used to be dependent on his separated father for the sole purpose of money.

The thought of rejection and lost hope of elevation to a better economic status worked as trigger to Fayaz who then killed his ex-girlfriend attributing to yet another characteristics and phenomenon of Love Jihad. 

The murder was captured in CCTV thus saving pro-Fayaz lobby the efforts to project him as victim of a false case. 

However, when the Fayaz fans couldn't paint the murderer innocent, they started a series of slander against Neha and building image of the identity Fayaz is associated with.  

Post her death, she fell victim to a massive one-sided slander campaign from Fayaz's family, friends and even his community's commoners and intelligentsia.