Cops spin on ‘love’ to close cases
Of 100 cases of women, who have killed their husbands, 80% due to harassment: Advocate
The police, when investigating cases of girls or women going missing, or a wife murdered by her husband or a wife killing her husband, tend to assume that some sort of love affair is the motive. They do not look for other possible reasons such as mental depression, peer or career pressure, or harassment of various kinds that may have led to the incidents.
The motive for 90 per cent of missing cases of girls is put down to a love affair or if the person is married, then to an illicit relationship. This conjecture of the police is believed by the families of the victims and the accused.
“Every missing person or murder case has its own story. For students (minors) peer pressure, humiliation at the hands of teachers, and not securing target marks or failing to make it to a prestigious institution could be the trigger. Girls especially, feel humiliated if they are insulted openly or fail in academics,” says Supreme Court lawyer S. Vani.
She says the number of cases of women eliminating their husbands has grown, but in a majority of cases it is not a love affair but harassment that is the motive.
“I know of a case where a husband sexually abused his own daughter and the wife chopped him. Out of 100 cases of women who have killed their husbands, 75-80 are due to harassment or sexual abuse of the immediate family,” she says. In the case of husbands killing their wives, it may be due to him having an extra-marital affair or for dowry, advocate Vani says. Alcohol is another cause of violent crime.
“Like any crime, the motive could be different, but the ‘love angle’ is claimed in the majority of cases by the police and highly publicised,” said the lawyer.
Human rights activist P. Harish added that the police investigation must not “wipe off the bitter reality of human trafficking, kidnapping for organ donation and begging racket, which the law and order machinery has been unsuccessful in curbing and is a matter of shame to the department.”
He says that in the majority of missing cases or couple disputes leading to murder, after the FIR is booked, there is rarely a detailed investigation into the case to get to the bottom of it, unless there is pressure from the victim’s family or orders from the top. “By informing the media that the crime is in connection with a love affair, the chapter is closed,” he says.
The National Bureau of Crime Records, the agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data nationwide, acknowledged in its 2017 report that minors tend to run away from school due to education pressure and in some cases, girls elope fearing the family will not approve of their chosen partner.
Psychologist Ratna Devi said, “The reasons for children going missing includes abuse at home, kidnapping, abduction and trafficking. These children could be exploited and abused. These children are often kidnapped or trafficked for prostitution, organ donations, employment, and such activities. Good parenting is a solution. Regular parent-children interaction can help bring down the number of missing cases.”