Blood on sindoor: Why Indian marriages are turning deadly

India Today

a day ago

A newlyweds' honeymoon in Meghalaya has just turned into a horror story, ending in the husband's murder, allegedly masterminded by the wife.Raja Raghuvanshi, 29, of Indore, vanished during a trek with wife Sonam just days after their May 11 wedding. On June 2, his semi-decomposed body, carrying signs of machete blows, was found at the bottom of a gorge by the Wei Sawdong waterfalls in Meghalaya.advertisementPolice claim Sonam, 28, and her boyfriend Raj Kushwaha conspired to murder Raja, hiring hitmen to carry it out. The two accused, now under arrest along with three hitmen, are described as masterminds of the crimeAt the funeral, Raj Kushwaha was filmed consoling Sonam's tearful father—a grim irony that played out on social media. Raja's sister Shrasti pleaded for justice: 'You (Sonam) could have eloped if you liked someone else. Why kill him (Raja)?'
From the outset, this case had the makings of a dark thriller—honeymooning bride, clandestine lover and contractual killers. Yet, it was all too real.The mind of a murderous wifeIf Sonam, as the police claim, plotted the murder, her devious mind defies ordinary comprehension and betrays a chilling blend of betrayal and delusion. What grotesque fantasy took root in her imagination to believe she could eliminate her husband and, without consequence, begin anew with her lover? To kill someone who shared your life and trusted you implicitly requires a senseless detachment, a moral void where empathy otherwise resides.advertisementOne is compelled to ask: what warped logic could provoke such a crime? Were there early signs—a manipulative streak, a lack of remorse or an uncanny ability to lie without flinching—that those around her had missed? In Sonam's story lies a grim reminder: that beneath the veneer of the familiar may lurk the dangerous contours of a disorderly psyche.The crime patternThe Raghuvanshi murder has over the weeks increasingly seemed less exceptional and more emblematic of a disturbing trend. Across northern India, reports have been surfacing of wives—often with the help of partners—allegedly murdering their husbands in brutal fashion.In March this year, the Meerut police found the dismembered body of former merchant navy officer Saurabh Rajput inside a cement-filled drum; his wife Muskan and her lover Sahil Shukla are charged with murdering and dismembering him.In another case in March, two weeks into her marriage, 22-year-old Pragati of Auraiya in Uttar Pradesh, allegedly conspired with her lover Anurag and hired killers to murder husband Dilip. Again, in March, a woman from Vaishali in Bihar allegedly killed her husband on Holi in a fit of rage.In Bijnor in April, Shivani, 25, confessed to lacing husband and railway worker Deepak Kumar's breakfast with sleeping pills and strangling him as he dozed off; she told had neighbours he died of a heart attack.advertisementLast August, police in Bijnor arrested Dilshana, 35, her lover and two hitmen after finding 40-year-old Rahees Ahmad's throat-slit corpse in a sugarcane field.In January 2024, a woman in Bihar's Begusarai, Rani, allegedly strangled her husband Meheshwar Rai to death because he had objected to her making Instagram reels.Similar violence has played out elsewhere: in Jaipur, a husband was set ablaze, allegedly for questioning his wife's fidelity; in Korba (Chhattisgarh), a wife confessed to stabbing her spouse repeatedly.Brides, vows and violenceSanjeev Kumar, a lawyer based in Patna, said the terms of modern-day marriages have changed. 'Unlike earlier times, when the sanctity of marriage vows was upheld at all costs, the old dictum 'Shaadi ki hai toh nibhaani toh padegi' no longer holds,' says Kumar.'Instead of opting for a dignified separation, some married women appear to have chosen murder as the path of least resistance. We are witnessing a chilling pattern of crimes where wives, often in collusion with their lovers, are allegedly stepping into the role of executioners,' he said.The psychologyThese cases force hard questions about why a partner would choose bloodshed rather than separation. Experts suggest a toxic mix of betrayal, obsession and desperation. Many suspects were entangled in forbidden affairs; in Sonam and Muskan's cases, their alleged lovers were also the alleged masterminds.advertisementYet experts stress not all such murders fit into a single mould. 'While every case has its own peculiarities, a distinct pattern emerges: meticulous planning and unwavering resolve,' said a Patna-based police officer, who assisted the Meghalaya police in escorting Sonam to the Bihar capital from Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, where she had been apprehended on June 9.Though Sonam was not formally interrogated in Patna—the Meghalaya police flew her out on June 10—informal conversations with Bihar police officers indicated this was not a crime born out of sudden rage. Rather, it echoed the contours of several recent cases, underpinned in all probability by psychological disturbances. 'Personality disorders, obsessive ideation, delusional thinking and a stark absence of empathy—each appears to have played a part,' said a police officer.Obsessive details, symbolic powerUnlike impulsive violence, a plotted murder reflects a calculated decision in which the idea of harming another becomes acceptable. For instance, Shivani of Bijnor had allegedly been nursing deep grievances—family discord and entitlements. She allegedly waited for the sedative pills to take effect before strangling her husband, later describing each step to investigators as a calculated act.advertisementTo some police officers, a secluded honeymoon or remote setting offers a bride a 'perfect cover'. Symbolically, such murders, they say, can be seen as a twisted consummation of marital fantasy—a lover's betrayal turned literal.Historically, the stereotype in India (and elsewhere) has been that wives are the victims, not the perpetrators. Indeed, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) tracks 'partner' murders primarily as violence against women. These recent episodes then may slightly invert a longstanding pattern.A rare historical echo is the famous 1989 case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia, an Indian woman in the UK who burned her abusive husband to death. Her conviction was reduced to manslaughter in recognition of the years of torture endured.By contrast, only a handful of pre-2020 Indian cases involved wives killing husbands, and seldom hit national attention. A 2021 Karnataka case (Ashwini vs. Jayaraj) saw a court hand life sentences to a Ashwini and her lover Ananda, who murdered her husband and hid the body in 2016. But until recently, the phenomenon rarely made headlines the way it now has.advertisementA statement on marriagesWhat does this surge suggest about marriages in India? By tradition, marriage is portrayed as a lifelong pact, yet when that bond suffocates, escape can feel impossible. For some women, as these cases imply, killing their husbands may have seemed like an easier resolution than facing a messy divorce or living with unresolved trauma.In patriarchal settings, a married woman's autonomy can be stifled, and divorcing is fraught with stigma. If abusive or manipulative relationships push her beyond endurance, murder may appear as the only decisive, even if perverse, way out.Yet, killing a beloved partner exposes the wreckage of trust and love. Media and police narratives can reduce these stories to crime statistics, but the victims' families live with the human and societal fallout. Such crimes leave lingering questions for families on both sides.They also cast a harsh light on contemporary Indian domestic life: on the pressures, betrayals and power struggles that underlie marriages. In turning a knot of love into an instrument of death, these incidents force us to ask how many marital conflicts are being swept under the carpet, and what it will take for society to prevent the next tragedy.That women—traditionally seen as nurturers—are increasingly surfacing as prime accused in spousal killings flips societal assumptions on their head. While each case may stem from complex personal histories, together they raise a chilling possibility: that when love turns loveless and conscience gives way to convenience, marriage itself may become a setting for premeditated betrayal. If compassion is lost, what remains of companionship?Subscribe to India Today MagazineMust Watch