Bandra: Akash Mukherjee, a 22-year-old from Kalyan, has been arrested and charged with ‘attempt to murder’, for trying to kill his girlfriend of 13 months, after she refused to have sexual relations with him.
Lubna Sukte, the victim, suffered injuries on her eyes, nose, and head after the accused banged her head on the rocks. She was taken to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra and is currently in stable condition.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, 31st May 2024 at Bandra Bandstand, Mumbai. They were both on a date celebrating Akash’s birthday. Lubna also mentioned to the police that they were talking about marriage and making wedding plans. Akash told her that he had converted to Islam officially and would show the certificate to her family to get their permission.
Things went south when Sukte told him that they should leave because it was 10 p.m. but Akash insisted that they stay for a while and “make love”, after which he would drop her home in a cab instead of taking the train. Upon hearing that, Sukte got scared, refused his advances, and started weeping. To muffle her cries, Akash gagged her and allegedly strangled her when she began to yell.
“He dragged me by my hair and banged my head against the ground and then also tried to drown me in the gutter.”, Sukte told Bandra Police. Locals gathered hearing her screams and she told them that he was trying to bash her head on the rocks. They then rushed her to the hospital. Mukharjee tried to run away but was caught by the crowd and later taken into custody on the same night.
Women remain unsafe in India
This is not the first time a man has been unable to take rejection and has brutally assaulted the other person, potentially murdering them. The Sahil-Sakshi case from Delhi attests to the fact that situations like these can result in horrendous endings.
In 2017, a 22-year-old man killed his girlfriend who was a teenager for not accepting his marriage proposal. A similar incident took place in March 2024. Another in 2022. In 2014, a man not only killed a girl for rejecting him for someone else but he also raped her dead body. The list goes on and on.
It is not the religion of the man that is making him commit despicable crimes, like the media so clearly wants to talk about.
It is the man and his upbringing in a society which tells him from the beginning that “That’s what boys do”. Ingraining the idea that violence and aggression are in their nature and nothing can be done about it. The fact that getting rejected is what pushes them to commit heinous crimes makes you wonder about the lengths they would go to if it was something more serious. Acid attacks, rapes, public humiliation, abduction, etc. are all how women remain unsafe in India even with men whom they consider their loved ones and family.
The reason Sahil’s case got huge media attention is because he was a Muslim who had committed a crime against a Hindu. However, Lubna’s case, even though it involves two individuals of different religions hasn’t received the same media attention. Why? Because the one who has committed the crime is originally a Hindu.
Media and Politics in India have always revolved around religion and making one the “antagonist” to sell papers or garner TRP. Creating religious divisions in society is not helping any citizen except politicians to manipulate the situation and use the majority as their vote bank.
