HYDERABAD: Days after the Delhi murder — in which the accused is alleged to have murdered his girlfriend and stored her chopped body parts in a fridge for disposal — was unearthed, three more similar crimes emerged from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bangladesh.
While perpetrators of such crimes claim to have committed the crime in a fit of rage, psychologists say otherwise.
“These are all a result of emotions of anger, fear and envy built over time,” Aliza Virani, a counselling psychologist, said.
“Such acts don’t happen in a day. They grow gradually from a push, a slap, to beating and it gets worse each time,” Virani said.
Virani, who has been following the Delhi murder case, says that violent partners make the other believe that the punishment is for their good. Such incidents are generally followed by romantic gestures to overcompensate, she said.
“It is a vicious cycle that fools a victim to believe the perpetrator is a ‘good human after all',” she said.
She noted that perpetrators manipulate the victim to cut off personal ties so they can’t reach out for help. Some common signs include violence over the slightest of things and possessiveness, usually an obsessive need to have the victim as nobody else’s but theirs.
Charan Gudipati, a clinical psychologist, said that the influence of mass media and lack of emotional education are key factors for a rise in such crimes. “Our morals and methods of dealing with betrayal or disrespectful behaviour often go unchecked. Being true to our nature, we tend to opt for no-brainer solutions or actions when cornered with emotionally challenging situations. Self-control is not taught or emphasised enough,” he said.
Aliza said that calling out such behaviours in the first instance helps. “These can be followed by calmly convincing the person to attempt therapy,” she said.
