"Woh Meri Bandi Hai" Battle Leads To Murderous Fight Between Two Friends

Will it be believable to read that a young man choked his friend to death, then ripped off his torso, pulled out his heart, and chopped off his private parts and fingers before surrendering himself to the police? This might sound like something straight out of a movie script, but this horrific incident happened for real. A 22-year-old man allegedly killed his friend for constantly contacting his girlfriend, who was previously in a relationship with the deceased. He then surrendered himself to the police on Friday.

According to the police, the deceased Naveen and the accused Harihara Krishna studied together at a college in Hyderabad’s Dilsukhnagar. The girl was also a student at the same college. The two men fell in love with the girl, but Naveen had proposed to her first, and they were in a relationship for a couple of years before parting ways. Later, the girl got into a relationship with Harihara Krishna.

Despite breaking up, Naveen had constantly been calling and texting the girl, which had infuriated Harihara Krishna. The accused waited for three months for an opportunity, and on February 17, the two men got high on alcohol and got into an ugly scuffle. Harihara Krishna strangled Naveen to death before deforming his body.

Man Kills Friend Over Girlfriend

As if the crime wasn't grizzly enough, some comments on social media were irrational. A comment read, "Aurat ka chakkar maut se takkar." Another user wrote, "Last me ladki kisi aur se shaadi karegi." A third user said, "Wow! Posted the guys' pictures conveniently. Share the girl's photo also!" Yet another comment read, "The lives of two men have been ruined by a woman." Why is it so easy to blame women for everything? When are we going to address the actual problems?

A gruesome crime has been committed, and both the deceased and the accused are men. Yet, some people are trying to pin the blame on the girl. Just because she was in a relationship with these men at different points in her life does not mean she instigated the crime. The two men didn’t fight because of the girl; they fought over their "ownership" of the girl, treating her like a mere object. Can we pause for a moment and understand that these men were claiming ownership over a woman?

The fight was over "Woh meri bandi hai" (That's my girl), and that sickening attitude of both these men led to the demise of one and turned the other into a murderer. This is not an act of revenge. This is toxic masculinity exhibited by both men. Given that both men were in love with the girl, each of them believed that she was "his girl," and that led to the gory crime.

I would call this the "Woh meri ladki hai" syndrome. But men need to start realising that they do not "own" the women who are in a relationship with them. In India, we see women as paraya daan—the bride is given away by her parents to her husband. This patriarchal tradition, which is unfortunately still practised widely, is one of the main reasons that leads men to claim "ownership" over their girlfriend and wife.

It is the collective fault of a patriarchal setup that we live in that has perceived women as objects for ages, which has led to the demise of a man and made another man a murderer. It's high time society started seeing women as humans who have bodily autonomy and agency over their lives. Why can't men accept rejection? What makes men resort to violence when faced with a problem? How can toxic masculinity be curbed? These are the questions that should arise out of a horrific crime like this. Throwing the blame on women simply because of their gender is not the solution. When is society going to stop its obsession with blaming women for everything and start looking at the actual problem?

Suggested Reading: Why Does Society Find It Easier To Blame Women Than Men?