Love or bloodlust?

It is not uncommon for a young man to fall in love with a girl and express it. This is something that has been going on since the world began. But the brutal act of taking one's life for declining love proposal is extremely rare. Horrific events like this can never be accepted by the helpless family who witnesses such a catastrophe or the community they belong to. The state is yet to recover from the shock caused by the death of 21-year-old Drishya, a second-year LLB student, who was stabbed at her home in Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district on Thursday morning. The accused in the case is Vineesh Vinod, a young man of Drishya's age and a former classmate. The accused was apprehended only due to the timely intervention of autorickshaw drivers in that area. Drishya's sister Devasree was also seriously injured while trying to save Drishya from the attacker. She is undergoing treatment. As per reports, Drishya was stabbed more than 20 times. This itself proves that the attacker was a hard-hearted man who would resort to any means to seek revenge. It is learnt Vineesh had set fire to the shop of Drishya's father on the previous night. According to police, Vineesh did it in order to keep Drishya's father away from home.

Kerala has witnessed several similar barbaric acts in the recent past. A number of girls were either killed or brutally attacked in broad daylight for declining love proposals. There has even been an acid attack that was not so familiar to Kerala.

Murders and assaults in the name of rejected love have often shocked many people. The truth is that there is no significant discussion or study about it. The general observation of society is that love is supreme and that no one wants to hurt their loved ones. But each person's outlook on love may be different. It can be influenced by the rigidity of the mind and the growing environment. In the past, love was really at the level of worship. We have come across several examples in stories, films and society where some succeed in getting over love failure while others fail to do so. With the passage of time, the concept of love has changed dramatically. The practical side and security of love have played a big role. However, some inhuman men, who do not think calmly, often commit atrocities that shock society.

The mindset of young people is often shattered by the primitive idea of ​​owning anything by any means and adopting any means for it. If a person, who gets rejected in love, has inborn criminal nature, he might resort to extreme violence in the name of seeking revenge.

These murders cause so much mental anguish that every parent prays that such a heinous crime should not happen again. The growing influence of drugs in society is also playing a crucial role in all such crimes. Police have received information that the young man who came to kill the girl in Perinthalmanna was expelled from school for using cannabis during his school days. People, who resort to violence, may not know what they are doing when they are intoxicated by drugs. It is the drug that drives their subconscious mind. The youth might have also got provoked when Drishya's family's declined his marriage proposal. It is learnt that the family had also lodged a complaint against him for stalking Drishya. Lashing out at the police for letting the youth off with a warning, the State Women's Commission said that the police should have taken the issue more seriously. However, we must remember that such situations cannot be prevented by the police alone. Society also has a big role to play. The authorities must ensure severe punishment for perpetrators. Such criminals should not receive any kind of benefit from the law.