Just a few months ago, Shraddha Walker's brutal murder by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala shook the entire nation. As sensational details of the horrific murder came in, they evoked terror in those who read it all. The chilling murder case became prime time news for days to come. New developments continue to be reported by news channels even now, however, no harsh punishment for Poonawala’s heinous crime has been doled out yet.
Cut to just some months later today, many other similar murder cases continue to be reported. Very recently, Southwest Delhi resident Nikki Yadav was killed by her live-in partner Sahil Gehlot. Twenty-four-year old Gehlot tied the knot with another woman hours later after the ruthless killing of a woman he was purportedly in love with once upon a time The incident took place earlier this February.
According to reports, Yadav was strangled to death by a data cable in Sahil Gehlot's car. Gehlot drove the car with Yadav's body next to him for about 40 kms within Delhi. He then headed back to his dhaba where he dumped her body in the fridge. Soon after, he rushed back home where he got married the same day.
Horrified yet? Wait, there is more.! Another case from Maharashtra was recently reported where a 35-year-old woman's body was recovered from a box bed at her home in Palghar, Maharashtra. Megha Dhan Singh Torvi, whose body was recovered by the police after neighbours complained of a foul smell coming from their rented house, was a nurse by profession. She was allegedly killed by her live-in -partner Hardik Shah. According to reports, the two had arguments everyday and a quarrel led to Megha's partner killing her and dumping her body insidethe box bed. While he was trying to escape, he was arrested by police officials.
Is This The Dreaded Domino Effect?
When the Shraddha Walker's case was first reported, psychologists feared the domino effect. In simple terms, the domino effect is a situation that triggers a chain of identical events. We spoke to our experts earlier and asked them to share their thoughts on whether the Walker case had the power to trigger the domino effect in the future. Sneha Dev, Clinical and Counseling Psychologist,back then highlighted that showing and highlighting sensational details of Shraddha Walker's case might trigger negative effects within people. She further shared that it could definitely trigger the domino effect. We didn’t even have to wait long to find that the domino effect is very much in effect now, courtesy the murder cases getting reported hot on the heels of Walker's case.
While the domino effect is here, oddly, the gory murder cases are no longer leaving us disturbed. Have we already accepted this as the norm?
Nothing Seems To Change
Everytime a gruesome crime case against a woman is reported in the country, the public goets down tothe streets with candles to seek justice for the victim. The initial rage makes the government make promises for a speedy trial but does it really change anything? Unfortunately, no!
The rise in the number of crime cases against women is proof that nothing has really changed for women in the country. The world continues to be an unsafe place for women, even amid supposed loved ones.
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The world hasn't changed a bit. Not surprisingly though, when Shraddha Walker's case got reported first, people were quick to label it 'love jihad'. The nasty victim blaming continued for a while and little did any one bother that brutal crimes of this nature break every edge of humanity.
Justice Delayed or Denied?
While the judgement arrives too late for some cases, it remains undelivered in many. There continues to be a backlog of cases in the Indian judicial system, which further leads to delays in doing due diligence. To date, millions of cases remain pending at courts at different levels. No wonder the public continues to lose faith in India's judiciary.
Majority of cases also remain unsolved, which further gives criminals the licencse to roam around freely while the victim fights to seek justice. It is a vicious cycle. Clearly, we are not doing much to provide a safe space, not even back at home, as is evident by intimate partner violence cases being reported.
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What Do Legal Experts Have To Say?
Even though these murder cases aren’t shocking us any more, we are sure many of us are passively (sometimes actively) concocting personal safety plans. Safety is a luxury, which can be hard to manage for most.
So, we spoke to our legal expert, Criminal and Civil Lawyer, Kinnari Mehta and asked her what legal steps women could take if they feel unsafe. “It is disheartening to see the rise in the number of women in an abusive relationship. Even strong, educated, and independent women are being subjected to such abuse and find it difficult to walk away from such abusive relationships. It is extremely important for them to leave such a relationship before the abuse aggravates into killing and also report their abusive partners to the police.”
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