Another Spite Over Rejection: Man Burns Woman's Flat For Saying NO

A 32-year-old man set a woman's flat ablaze because he was angry at her for not talking to him. The incident happened on February 3 in Indore when the woman was not in her flat. The man has now been arrested and booked under relevant charges.

As per reports, the man was identified as Tarun Dhaketa. He was on talking terms with a 34-year-old woman who was a widow. However, after some time, the woman stopped talking to him and refused his advances. This angered Dhaketa so much that he decided to take this extreme step. 

According to Kanadia police station in-charge KP Yadav, the accused broke into the woman's flat on February 3 when she was out for a birthday party. He set the flat on fire and called the woman. He informed her about the fire and issued threats to her. Later the fire was doused by the fire brigade and police personnel. The CCTV camera caught Dhaketa's act and helped the police in nabbing him. 

Dhaketa has been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 457 (trespassing into premises by breaking into at night) and 436 (malignant use of inflammable substance with intent to burn down a building).

Spite over rejection is a common cause of crimes against women

Spite over rejection has become a very common reason behind crimes against women. Men find it difficult to accept that a woman can reject them. In our society, men have been given the power to like or dislike someone while women are supposed to just agree with whatever the patriarchy demands them to do. But just because a belief or social structure is old, it doesn't mean that they are fair.

Clearly, this unequal division of power is causing a lot of hatred and disharmony in society. It is undermining the choice and safety of women who are as much human as men. So, why don't we get rid of these beliefs? Who is even benefited by these archaic and patriarchal beliefs? Women? Certainly not. Men also get no benefit from these beliefs because now the legal system has become more cautious towards the safety of women. So, if men commit crimes under the influence of these beliefs, they cannot just escape and live a peaceful life. So, when are we going to stop this spite? 

True, handling rejection is hard. But there are ways to overcome it. Causing harm to the other person is not the way out of any issue. So, let's sensitise society against such violence that frequently risks the lives of women.  

Views expressed are the author's own.