By Admin 
The body of 26 year old Ketan Aggarwal was found in a 400 feet deep ditch of Lohagarh Fort in Pune. At first it was thought to be an accident, then it was revealed that his 20 year old fiancee Siya Goyal and lover Chetan Choudhary had pushed him together. The most surprising question raised was why Siya did not refuse marriage. Ketan’s father later said that if she had refused, the marriage would have been stopped, yet she plotted the murder. This is not just a case, but a pattern. Women like Sonam Raghuvanshi, Muskaan Rastogi, Shivani and Radhika are accused of murdering their husbands or fiancees…
NCRB data: 1 in 10 murders due to relationship disputes
Siya Goyal and Chetan Chaudhary conspired to murder Ketan Aggarwal for four months. Police investigation revealed that between January and June 2026, both of them made 2,004 calls and talked for 238 hours. After three attempts, Ketan was killed. However, this is not the first case. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), of the 27,049 murders recorded across the country in 2024, 2,802 (about 10%) were related to love affairs or relationship disputes. This figure increased to 10-11% between 2016-2024. This means violence is increasing in relationships.
Interestingly, total murders declined by 2.4% in 2024, but the proportion of murders related to relationships increased. That means total murders are decreasing, but violence in relationships is increasing.
What do research reports say in this matter?
The reports from Australia and Turkey are shocking:
Australian Research (2010–2012)
Researchers at Queensland University of Technology studied 149 Australian murders. consequences:
- 40% of murders were committed due to jealousy.
- 23% of the murders were for insurance money or property.
- There was no prior domestic violence in these cases.
Many women commit murder even without being victims of violence beforehand. Especially when they feel that they will not get anything in divorce.
Turkish study finds 24% women commit planned murder
Researchers from Ankara University studied 123 prisoners (73 women, 50 men):
- 82.19% women and 60.97% men were accused of murdering their partners.
- 24% of women committed murder with planning, while it was 7% among men.
- The biggest reasons for murder among women were physical violence from the partner, jealousy and abandonment by the society.
- The biggest reason for murder among men was physical violence with a partner.
Researchers found that women use violence against their partners to protect themselves from violence. Apart from this, according to Todd Shackleford, psychology professor at Oakland University of America:
- The ratio of husband-wife murders in America is 50-50. This does not happen in any successful western country in the world.
- In Europe, Asia and Africa, 80-90% of murders are committed by men.
- When women hit their husbands, it is mostly in defense.
- Women who commit murder are often isolated, economically dependent and not employed.
What do experts say on disputes in relationships?
Senior psychiatrist Dr. Pankaj says, ‘The girl is living a two-compartment life. What is going on in her mind is that she will not marry the boy, she wants to get him out of the way and go to her old lover. But she is showing something else to the society. When someone lives a double life for so long, his mind starts considering lies as truth.
According to psychiatrist Dr. Chaitanya Sheoran, ‘Marriage is still a social event, not a personal choice.’ People get married to cool the nerves of the family. When this pressure becomes too much, the person starts looking for some other way out. No matter how dangerous that path may be. Pretending to be innocent hours after a murder is part of a behavior disorder.
According to psychiatrist Dr. Anshu Kulkarni, ‘When a child grows up in a very strict environment, a deep fear of rejection by the parents develops in him. Where his opinion is never given importance.
Psychiatrist Dr. Deepak Raheja says that Siya was stuck between two completely different worlds. On one side ‘trophy relationship’ (marriage to a rich family), on the other side my real life.
Why is it easier to take life than saying ‘no’?
Experts give 4 big reasons:
- Burden of ‘honor’: During police interrogation, Chetan revealed that Siya talked about running away, but refused. He was afraid that this would hurt his family’s honor.
- Family pressure: According to NCRB, 76 murders took place in the name of ‘honour’ between 2020-2022. This means that every year about 25 people were killed just because they chose a relationship against the wishes of the family.
- emotional detachment: According to Dr. Sheoran, ‘Thinking of pushing into a deep abyss is a disease for a normal mind.’
- Easy way of conspiracy: 2,004 calls, 238 hours of conversation, sitting in a café and planning ‘Plan C’… this was not a hasty murder. This was a cold-blooded conspiracy.
So has modernization increased crime?
NCRB data clearly shows that the proportion of relationship-related murders increased from 7-8% in 2010-14 to 10-11% in 2016-24. But modernization has not increased crime, rather the methods of crime have changed.
In earlier times, girls did not have any choice. She used to get married forcibly. Now there are elections, but the social pressure is the same. Independence has been achieved, but the structure of society has not changed. When a person gets trapped in this conflict, he takes wrong steps.
Siya Goyal’s case is not just a murder case, but a mirror of our society. Where saying ‘no’ feels like losing respect, people can go to the extent of taking life. Where children do not have the freedom to express themselves, they grow up and learn to create conspiracies instead of speaking directly.
If we want to bring change, we have to start from home. Children have to be given the freedom to say ‘no’, because if they are not able to say ‘no’ at home, they may take steps like killing themselves outside.