'Rage Killings' Are Absurd, but Why Are They So Common? Experts Explain

Of late, crimes of passion over seemingly trivial issues have been all over the news. Why do they happen?

'Rage killings' have dominated news headlines in India for years. But what pushes people to commit heinous crime within seconds?

(Photo: Chetan Bhakuni/FIT)

Imagine this. You're in office. A colleague comes in. The two of you have an argument over a chair. This happens a few more times. A few days later, the colleague meets you outside office, takes out a gun, and fires at you.

Now, forget the 'Imagine this' part. This really happened. 

On 29 March, 23-year-old Vishal Singh, an employee at a financial firm in Gurugram's Sector 44, was shot at by his colleague Aman Jangra. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

Early in April, a 54-year-old man in Bengaluru was beaten to death by three of his neighbours. Why? He complained of loud music being played at 4 in the morning.

On 15 April, a businessman in Indore fired a gunshot in the air and threatened to shoot sanitation workers. This happened over a fight about garbage segregation.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), out of 459 murders that were committed in Delhi in 2021, a majority were done in a fit of rage – over sometimes seemingly trivial issues.

"There seems to be increasing cases of impulse control disorder with people losing sense of what is civic and what is not, and giving in to their violent urges," says Dr Fabian Almeida, consultant psychiatrist at Kalyan's Fortis Hospital.

But what pushes people to commit heinous crime within a matter of seconds? What does it tell us about the society we live in?

What Could Lead People To Commit Rage Crimes?

Dr Sameer Kalani, Senior Consultant and Psychiatrist, Fortis Mental Health and Behavioral Sciences, explains that someone who commits a crime of passion could possibly fall under one of these categories:

• People suffering from a mental health disease or a psychotic/manic episode

• People doing substance abuse

• People with an extremely individualistic approach to society, bordering on narcissism

"But it's not necessary that someone who commits a rage crime will always fall into these categories. The crime could be a result of an environmental or situational trigger or some underlying stress manifesting in a violent form."

Dr Sameer Kalani

For instance, in the Gurugram case, Dr Kalani draws the analyses that the accused might be suffering from some sort of antisocial personality disorder, showcasing a deviant behaviour against the society.

"They might have been trying to exert control over the situation by pulling out their firearm," he adds.

In the Bengaluru case, the accused were in an "alleged inebriated state." In such a case, Dr Kalani explains, substance use often influences the brain, taking away its judgement ability. As the victim's brother recounted to The Quint, the accused beat his brother "black-and-blue" using logs. They even slapped the victim's sister, "followed them back to their house, and tried to enter it forcefully."

Gautam Mengle, a senior journalist with MidDay who has covered crime in Mumbai for over 14 years, agrees with Dr Kalani's insight. After reporting from the ground and by speaking to cops and forensic experts, Mengle has come to understand that very often, there's some latent rage that comes to the surface as an argument heats up. But he also maintains that not everyone who commits a rage crime has the intention to kill.

"The killing part is often accidental. Most rage crimes are committed by regular people against people they know. In an attempt to intimidate, exert power, establish superiority, and scare someone, people might do such things."

Mengle shares that in the very first murder case he had covered for his news organisation, the crime was unplanned.

Back in 2008-09 in Mumbai, in a fit of rage, three migrant workers, who were drug addicts and alcoholics, accidentally killed their fourth roommate in a fit of rage. The trigger was that the victim, who regularly saved and sent money home, refused to give his savings to his roommates for alcohol. Enraged by this, they killed him.

"When they realised what they had done, they cut his body into pieces, stuffed it in a suitcase, and left it outside a club. They were not seasoned criminals... none of this was planned. They dumped the body because their survival instinct kicked in."

Gautam Mengle

However, Mengle points out that people are often unaware that hitting certain parts/organs of the body could cause internal injuries and bleeding – and ultimately lead to death.

Crimes of Passion Are Majorly Gendered

In a huge number of cases of rage killings, the victims are women. "Women often end up being the target of crimes of passion, especially in marriages or relationships, since men feel the need to assert their power through mental or physical abuse," Mengle says.

Crimes of passion are nearly impossible to prevent.

(Photo: Garima Sadhwani/FIT)

In April 2022, 46-year-old Nilesh Ghagh allegedly strangulated his wife Nirmala in Thane, using a long piece of cloth because the khichdi she had cooked for him as breakfast had too much salt. According to reports, he was charged under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

Just a week earlier, another man had allegedly shot his daughter-in-law in Thane because she "did not serve him breakfast along with tea."

So, when the victim is a woman, many questions should come to the fore.

• Was this the first time the husband or the father-in-law had hit the victims? Or was it that abuse was common in the household – and it was only this one time that it turned fatal?

• Was it a case of domestic violence?

• If the relationship was, in fact, abusive, should the accused be tried in court only for the murder or for domestic violence as well?

Sonali Shelar, human rights advocate, says, "The biggest factor is perhaps the flawed justice system. There are so many instances when cops try to 'solve marital disputes' instead of filing cases for the offense committed. There are solid reasons for why women don't reach out to the system for help – the process is the punishment truly."

"Especially in cases where the perpetrator is known and severe punishment is involved, the victim will have to make the tough choice of either reporting and putting a family member behind bars or having to live with their perpetrator throughout their lives."

Sonali Shelar

However, Shelar emphasises that the overarching reason for crimes against women would always be patriarchy and misogyny, which is omnipresent in society.

"It's because we look at women as servants and objects before we look at them as human beings. We treat them as second-class citizens. Just like the way we do with caste," she says.

Shelar quotes two recent examples on how establishing authority on women, when they don't follow moral or societal codes, is a power trip for most men and institutions. In August 2022, a former assistant professor at Kolkata's St Xavier's had alleged that she was fired for posting pictures in a bikini on her private Instagram account.

Shelar says, "Compare this with the Gauhati High Court's 2021 judgment where it had granted bail to a rape accused just because he was an IIT student, and said that he was the 'state's future asset'. You don't mind taking away a woman's job in the present day, but you want to protect a rape accused's imaginary future. This is only because you think of women as second-class citizens."

"Women are commodities in our culture that's why it's easier to punish them for mistakes."

Sonali Shelar

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the rate of crime against women increased from 56.5 percent in 2020 to 64.5 percent in 2021. Around 31.8 percent of these crimes were filed under Section 498A of the IPC, which criminalises cruelty by husband or his relatives.

Signs Someone Is Disturbed and Might Need Help

Mengle also shares that in a lot of cases of "spur of the moment" rage crimes, the family of the accused often finds what they have done hard to believe.

Dr Almeida explains why the element of surprise comes in, making it harder to accept that someone you know could commit a brutal crime.

"In recent years, people's stress levels have increased, especially post the pandemic. But impulse control and frustration tolerance is at a low. When such crimes happen, we're seeing the last straw break, but there might be a lot of frustration, anger management issues, mental health disorders, impulse control disorder that the accused could be struggling with, that others might have ignored, and hence their surprise when the accused commits such crimes."

Dr Fabian Almeida

And crimes of passion are nearly impossible to prevent because they are, by definition, instinctual.

But there are some signs and symptoms that you could look out for in people that might tell you if they're disturbed, says Dr Kalani. If they get the help they need on time, who knows just what might be prevented.

• Someone starts talking to themselves or starts laughing abruptly

• Someone frequently experiences bouts of crying, aggression, or hopelessness 

• Voicing out suicidal thoughts

• Someone, who doesn't have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder but frequently experiences its symptoms

Dr Almeida adds two more ways of preventing rage killings:

• Intervene at an early stage

• Conduct psychological autopsy after a crime is committed to understand why the accused did what they did and apply that understanding while trying to deal with people with severe mental disorders

And is there something that law agencies can do? Mengle suggests that law enforcement systems ensure speedy investigation and present a watertight case in court.

“The common man needs to be constantly aware of the fact that hurting someone, no matter how angry you get, is going to have serious consequences,” Mengle says.

He also suggests that if the accused needs a bail, it should be approved by the victim's family to ensure some sense of security for them.