New crime epidemic in Delhi

A series of brutal killings by jilted lovers in the national capital has shocked denizens and surprised cops. Although the crime spots spanned different parts of the city, there are striking similarities in all the killings. All killers allegedly belong to a relatively well off sections of society and none have any criminal precedent. Almost every killing was carried out in a fit of unadulterated rage and resulted in catastrophic implications for everyone involved.

Dharmendra Kumar Tandon, an ex-army man shot down a leading cardiologist Dr Sanjeev Dhawan at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on Wednesday, September 19. Tandon was believed to be obsessed with a maid Sangeeta Kaur, who was hired by doctor’s neighbour recently. Tandon had served in J&K and Siachen valley and was discharged from the army after sustaining a knee injury. After a scuffle at the doctor’s residence, Tandon shot three rounds at Dhawan and fled the scene. He was later apprehended by the local police near Karol Bagh Metro Station. Initial investigations suggest that Dhawan had warned Tandon twice in the past after a complaint by Sangeeta.

In a separate instance, Manish and Rajveer Sharma first shot at Rajveer’s brother Krishan and targeted two women at his house. Later they reached Rajveer’s house and shot his 22-year-old wife, Pooja, and his two daughters, Khushi (13) and Rashi (3). The duo then shot several bullets into themselves. This spiral of violence began at around 4.30pm on 8th September when both killers arrived on a Pulsar bike at Krishan's house in the area, allegedly to settle a property dispute and unrequited love. It is alleged that a public school teacher had refused Rajveer’s entreaties to marry him.

In yet another incident on September 3, Ravi, enraged over his failed attempt to woo a minor girl went on a shooting spree. He allegedly killed her elder sister and then her landlady in Bindapur in Delhi’s southwest. After killing the two, he drove in his Santro car to Ghaziabad to kill the girl and her father and finally he emptied the gun on himself.

Eminent psychiatrists and psychologists explain that those involved in such types of crime do not really look for a relationship. Rather, it is more an unrequited feeling of of possessiveness and procuring love on one’s own terms and conditions. They say that when such a person fails to lure the one they are obsessed with, they erupt into mindless anger. The situation worsens if they have easy access to firearms.

The last few years have seen the condition in the National Capital Region go from bad to worse. The sudden spurt in property prices and the subsequent increase in wealth seems to have distorted the power equation in sections of the society. Sociologists suggest that this sudden access to power for the nuvo-rich without corresponding responsibility is a cause of increase in such cases.