As the slugfest around the murder of MCA student Neha Hiremath on Thursday continued on Saturday, the mother of the accused, Fayaz Kondikoppa, apologised to the parents of the victim and said that her son should be punished. The apology came on a day when Karnataka Home Minister, Dr G Parameshwara, also apologised for his “in love” remark in the case.

Talking to reporters, HM Parameshwara stated on Saturday that, if at all his statements regarding the case had hurt the feelings of Neha’s parents, he would regret them. Reacting to the incident, Parameshwara had stated that Neha and Fayaz were in love with each other.