What causes mental decay: Criminology has to decode a new low:

 

What causes mental decay: Criminology has to decode a new low:

                                                Anil K Khaware

                                                Advocate

I am writing this as a missive to the entire social fabric, since, as an ordinary citizen I feel quite distressed at the incident which impelled me to pen this. Let us not forget that mere cribbing to lack of empathy in vast part of society needs at large shall be of no consequence. Similarly, mere escapism leading to “it has not happened to us shall be of no significance either”. The people need to understand the anatomy of the malaise through a surgical hand and should stand together in a bid to contribute towards eradicating the root cause, in whichever way one may indulge in. That the felony has the manifestation and transcended in own family and leading to kill one’s own infant daughter should raise alarm bell. Thus, the act transcended to own family member and that too on an infant daughter has caused serious consternation. How can one even in fit of rage kill one’s own infant of bare 20 months? Why the fit of rage emanates in first place? The immediate cause known in this case is frightening. The demand by wife of Rs 5 to buy a piece of sweet for their daughter with a view to stop her from crying and that was the point of ignition. It is unbelievable. There is a serious fault line and criminal scientist and anthropologists have to decode this..

The news on the website which prompted me to pen my anguish is as under:

Maharashtra Shocker: Man Kills His 20-month-old Daughter in Fit of Rage After Wife Asks Rs 5

team-news@corp.india.com (India.com News Desk)  46 minutes ago

Mumbai: In a shocking incident coming to light from Maharashtra's Gondia, a man           reportedly killed his 20-month-old daughter in a fit of rage after his wife requested          Rs 5 to buy a sweet for the kid.

According to a report by India Today, the accused got angry when his wife told him that their child was crying and asking for 'khaja'. Notably, 'Khaka' is a sweet snack made of wheat flour. The incident took place on February 2 at Gondia's Lonara village.

When the baby didn't stop crying, the wife requested Rs 5 from her husband to buy the sweet for the baby. The man reportedly got up and smashed the child's head on a door.

"My husband returned home in the evening and as my daughter Vaishnavi was crying, I asked him for Rs 5 to buy her Khaja. xxxxxxxx said he doesn't have any change," India Today quoted the mother of the kid as telling police.

"xxxxxxxx got furious after I asked for money. He picked up xxxxxxx (daughter)i, took her to the door and smashed her head on the door and stairs of our house. When I tried stopping him, he assaulted me too. Badly hurt, I somehow rushed my daughter to Tiroda sub-district hospital where she was declared dead before admission," the woman added.

Later, xxxxxxxx filed a complaint against her husband with the police.

The accused was later arrested by the police.

 

MINDSET NEED DECODING

This is not a mere news simpliciter, which could attract eye balls, just once. It leaves a deep scar in the heart and mind. It cannot be dismissed as any other crime. The malaise in the family system and the people being on short fuse and seeks only slightest of the ignition to implode is a deep cause of concern. The situation needs deeper analysis. The doyen in sociology may find such pattern as distressing and the criminologist may refer it to as aberration while psychologist may find the people deranged. It is however, more than that and does not and cannot fit into a simplistic definition.

The aforesaid news caption appeared around 15-20 days back has caused churning in my mind. That I am writing these lines is not due to an emotional outburst nor a mere concern, this is an endeavour to understand the decay in society and mental pathology leading to self destruction and also to espouse need of a cogent study by the criminal scientist in this regard without demur. Unless, we go deep into it the pathogenesis of this mindset cannot be understood, let alone unearthed. Optimism is the base on which the entire remedial wheel may rotate for the sake of society. The glamour, sensuality and materialism at the best could be perceived as desire or passion. Such a passion could only lead to obsession and which is retrogressive. The lack of resources may drive some to negativity and may invite depression. If this is the pattern, it is to stop and that too sooner than later. Passion to contribute, effort to remedy the ill, endeavor to spread positivity is a syndrome of progress. Thus, even if a unit of society, howsoever small, feels that there is need to accentuate the thought to further the value shall be of immense significance. Materialism, per se may not be deprecated, but penchant of it, require curbing. In a rat race of achieving something materially, soul searching is necessary and that thought may be inculcated in the people so as to enable the society to take a spin for good.     

The exponent of stress management therapy may find reason for such felony, but the fact remains that there are acute torment from within and matrimonial discord may just be one of the prelude to the act of madness. The stress emanating from matrimony and workplace may just be few of the factors, not all and therefore, the same cannot be brushed aside in this manner. Such acts can only relate to pathogenic mindset which could creep in during childhood and adolescence and all of sudden manifestation in a manner, as is narrated above, cannot be fathomed. The criminology thus steps in here. Though, there may be various theories that may be propounded by criminologists, but the categorical and most plausible psychoanalysis is still eluding us. Even the geneticists may refer to genes related anomaly. The time has come for comprehensive study in it, as social turmoil and its extent is increasing by the day and hence not only the cause but therapy of such cause is the need of the hour.

WHETHER The INCIDENT IS AN ACT OF DOMESTIC violence:

More oftenly, researcher attributes an act of violence as gender based and that is reckoned as a factor and that male is perceived to be the perpetrates of the violence and  who is targeted is women, being in receiving ends. Whether this is caused due to a sense of entitlement and to control is still ambiguous The irony however is that even if there is no history of any delinquency, still, the crime in a family is committed by first timer. The research so far appears to be lopsided, as no firm correlation of crime to gender or stress or finances could be ascertained. In this backdrop, no one can be oblivious to the cases of domestic violence, still, there is another significant dimension which has not elicited adequate attention than it deserve i.e domestic violence laws and Section 498 A of Indian Penal Code is also misused by well to do women, as a tool of heaping harassment on their spouse. The instances may be relatively lower, but still this is not insignificant. Therefore, there cannot be any straight jacket formula to jump to any conclusion. What is also a factor to be reckoned further is the fact that the women are economically more independent financially in recent past and they are more assertive, of course, unlike the large chunk of women, who have no reach or access to law.

To say that the incident in question is a mere domestic violence shall be an understatement. It is brazen, mindless and heinous and could only emanate from a mind suffering from some syndrome. The killing of one’s own infant cannot be simply put as domestic violence. It is much more than that.

The crime against the infant, which is elucidated here, none of the stipulation or assertion can probably explain the heinous crime and that is a deep cause of anguish. The crime and punishment is in statute book, what is not is the psycho-chemistry of the criminals and unless the root cause of it is deduced no therapy shall be of any use.

CONCLUSION

If the incident of killing of infant is seen from the prism of domestic violence, that will be quite tangent to the reality. The crime like this is on rise and a suitable mechanism need to be in place and research machinery be set in motion for adequate and effective answer to the instinct of such crimes and its genesis. This is essential and very urgent so as to probably prevent any such recurrence in future.  The crime pathogenesis needs a surgical analysis. Let us ignite the thought to read the anatomy of depression or the mindset of such perpetrator that  leads to mental pathology and as to what prompts a mindless act in such a brazen manner. To sum it up-“Let us raise a cause and not for applause”.

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