BENGALURU: A deep social frustration and greed to make a quick buck the easiest way possible has led to Bengaluru witnessing a surge in shocking crimes - including sex crimes. In the past two weeks, there have been eight murders, 27 robberies, 148 hurt cases, 33 attempt to murder cases, and eight rape cases. While these are statistics from the police department, experts say it does not matter how many crimes have been reported, but rather, the nature of these crimes is what is worrying. There have been many reports of violence, stabbing and murders that have made headlines in recent weeks, with daily occurrences in the city.
In many of these cases, the frustration, the pent-up feelings, the greed for money, lack of money, economic downfall can be seen as the reasons behind killings and attacks, say independent researchers in the city.
“There has been a rise in high-harm incidents, including offences involving knives, sex-related offenses, road rage, attacks for silly reasons, murders over affairs, etc. It is the change in social fabric that is leading to these kind of crimes. It is not that murders never happened before or rapes never happened, but it was definitely a rarity to see a two-year-old child in the neighbourhood raped or killed because your relative is having an affair with a neighbour. This is definitely a dangerous trend,” said Garima N Jain, an independent researcher working on the impact of urbanisation and its relation to crime.
Recently, a software engineer who was arguing with his wife at his apartment suddenly flew into a murderous, psychotic rage, grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed his wife 49 times. About such incidents, Girish HN, a former software personnel now working as a life coach, said, “Many come from modest backgrounds and small towns, vaulting from crammed schools to be plugged into a global 24/7/365 workplaces with extreme pressures. The pressure and not getting enough time with partners, open relationships, the idea of having extra marital affairs, etc, lead to suspicions on partners.
These days, people don’t know how to handle complex situations. Rage seem to be the answer for many,” he said.
The causes for the increase in violent crimes vary from one city to the next — be it poor socio-economic conditions, soaring drug-related crimes, changes in policing, among other factors, say few others. According to Ashish Bharadwaj, researcher on urban economics and crime rates, said that an increase in crimes in any city was related closely to the percentage of its population that is unemployed. “Crime often fluctuates with income and poverty, rising in areas that become poorer and falling in cities gaining wealth. Besides having to cater to new entrants to the workforce, there is a backlog of job-seekers, which the market has to address. Nearly 30 per cent of India's workforce comprises casual workers who
remain unpaid whenever they cannot find jobs. A large part of the labour force is in the unorganized sector, those who don't have social security. These employees are, therefore, more likely to be frustrated (due to social and economic factors) and commit crimes.”
shocking crimes in the recent past
A home alone
chartered accountant was raped and robbed by a habitual offendor in Basaveshwarnagar.
Killing of Gauri Lankesh.
A 23-year-old nursing student fell to his death from the fourth floor of a building after he was allegedly pushed by his friend during a heated argument over a girl.
A 34-year-old man was killed by his friends and his severed head was dumped near a school, located nearly half a kilometre away in Gangammanagudi police station limits
A mother at JP
Nagar in Bengaluru threw her seven-year-old child from the fourth floor of her apartment twice and killed her brutally.
Three men on a scooter intercepted a man and attacked him with a machete after a heated argument over cigarettes.
Recently, a young man was stabbed to death in broad daylight because he refused to pay by cash and wanted to pay by Paytm for the cigarettes he bought; Two rowdy sheeters were hacked to death on the busy Bannerghatta Road for revenge. Everything cannot be generalised, said Dr Satish Ramaiah, psychiatrist at People Tree Hospital. He agreed that people’s tolerance levels have definitely come down in the past few years. “It has become an extremely competitive environment. In road rage cases, you might notice that everyone wants to win.
There is a lack of empathy towards each other,” he explained.
Adding to this, Ashwini NV, director, Muktha Foundation (organisation committed to prevent abuse and promote mental health) said there are many cases of Intermittent Explosive Disorder seen in Bengaluru of late. “It is a mental health condition where repeated episodes of sudden aggressive and violent behaviour could be seen. This condition could be behind road rage, relational aggression and temper tantrums. Pent up frustration, violent family environment, lack of emotional regulation skills may all have contributed to the development of such a condition,” she said.
When CE asked Dr Satish about cases like the raping a lone woman in Basaveshwara Nagar recently, he said, “We cannot generalise rape or sex-related cases. There are many things that go behind these kind of incidents. Many times, it's the individual’s personality that plays a role in such cases.”
However, a senior police officer speaking about cab drivers involved in rape cases and molestation, said,
“During our survey with cab drivers on attitudes towards women, we realised that most of them are repeatedly exposed to the lavish lifestyle of passengers, they carry women to and fro at night from pubs and tend to believe that these women are easygoing and vulnerable. Exposure to money at a young age, with driver’s licences and jobs being given to them, they tend to get involved in sex-related offences as they don’t realise how to handle money or even their desires.”