Bengaluru: Is love and romance losing its spark in this fast-paced era? As per police data, crimes related to passion now account for 23 per cent of the 702 total murders reported in 2024 in Karnataka, up from 17 per cent in 2021. As many as 792 spouses and 114 lovers were murdered in the last four years in Karnataka, police data has revealed.
The state has witnessed 161 killings by spouses or lovers in the first eight months of 2024. Among these, 138 involved married couples, while 23 were cases related to lovers, police said.
In 2021, out of 1,342 murders, 200 involved spouses whereas 30 were cases where lovers attacked each other. In 2022, a total of 1,248 murders took place in the state out of which 243 killings were related to spouses and 20 were murders by lovers.
Reasons For Surge In Passion Killings: It is important to believe that the overall murder rates have witnessed a downward trend. However, what is striking is that passion killings remain consistent, with police attributing the surge to factors such as ego clash, jealousy, suspicion, possessiveness, extra-marital affairs and property-related disputes.
Relationship experts opine that everyday brawls due to petty issues often escalate into violent turmoils, particularly among younger couples, leading to such dreadful murders.
In one such horrific incident in August, a cab driver named Kiran allegedly killed his wife Navyashree, a choreographer, due to suspicions of infidelity. In another case in July, a love triangle ended in tragedy after a man was killed in a PG on suspicions of going around with a girl who was already seeing someone.
A senior police officer told ETV Bharat that when it comes to lovers, the establishment of secret sexual relations and rejections are the primary reasons for murders.
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