Murders due to unsolicited love on the rise in Bengaluru

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: Either love or hate, the 'game of ego' has destroyed the lives of many people. At least eight incidents were reported in the city this year when eight women including two students were allegedly killed by jilted lovers or stalkers.

According to the latest police report, more than 6,551 murders have taken place in Karnataka between November 2018 and November 2022. Out of this, 3.3 per cent (215 cases) are due to unrequited love issues. At the beginning of this year, a jilted lover allegedly stabbed a girl student of a prestigious college in Yelahanka to death and later attempted suicide. A few days later, a married man who already had a child, slit the throat of a first-year BA student in Dibbur of Rajanukunte, for rejecting his advances.

Usually, rejection of love proposals is the reason for such murders. Soon after the incidents were re por ted, News Trail spoke to a citybased Women's Rights advocate who expressed concern about the rising crimes against women. She said that women need to learn self-defence techniques on how to protect themselves from such attacks. "Eve-teasing and stalking should not be taken lightly," she said.

"What was more shocking about the Rajanukunte case was the smile that the assailant had on his face while he was getting arrested. It seemed that the crime he committed was not serious enough for him to feel guilty," she asked. Bengaluru police said that suspicion of cheating in marriage and jealousy in love also lead to such crimes. However, psychologists say that a dominant character is the reason behind such heinous crimes.

"Such men kill women in matters of love because they want to dominate the weaker sex. Gender, financial difficulties, sickly jealousy, threat of separation, family disputes and friction lead to this kind of crime," Dr Suresh Bada Math, Head of the Department of Forensic Psychiatry in Nimhans, said. Psychiatrist Mahesh Gowda of Spandana Health Care said that some people cannot tolerate negligence or refusal of proposals in matters of love and marriage. So these kinds of murders take place.

A large number of such incidents occur across the country. When some incidents rule headlines, many attacks against women are not reported. Following are some of the reported crimes related to unrequited love that took place in Bengaluru recently