Our Prime Minister and his weaknesses, corruption and even rape seemed to have taken a back seat, because Times Of India reported some ghastly murders today.

A drug-addict killed his neighbour doubting that he stole his mobile.

A husband killed his wife allegedly over an affair.

But the most chilling of all was this one:

A teenage boy was murdered by his cousin and his elder brother’s friend who kidnapped him for ransom and then panicked and killed him when their ransom call wasn’t taken seriously. What more, they tried to be of help and went to lodge a police complaint for kidnapping along with his father. Betting on IPL matches was apparently the reason for the boys turning to this heinous crime. They intended to use the ransom money to pay off their debts.

Know more about this news here.

Any news of sex or violence against a child is very difficult to accept or digest. Had I seen this piece of news, say, six months ago, it’d have traumatised me. I’d gone numb trying to fathom the implications of this whole incident. Sadly, I’m only sad now.Something has changed in me or may be all of us in the recent past and I think crime serials are somewhere to be blamed for it.

Let me get this straight first, I’m not against them. If anything, I’m glad that they’re highlighting what is happening in real life in our country, may be even in our neighbourhood. They’re trying to create awareness by showing what signs and situations can help us foresee a possible threat. Incidents that seem rather mundane and harmless can turn into something far more bitter and horrifying in no time.  ‘Prevention is better than cure’ is what they want us to understand.

Having said that, they’re unknowingly doing something that they probably never intended to do. Seeing horrific crimes and incidents daily and repeatedly is making us impervious to them, is what I feel. I may have been shattered when I saw some particular episode the first time, but the second time, I wasn’t affected just as much. To be honest (and shameless) , I even felt fortunate for not being in some victim’s place.

Crime is also glorified at times for benefit. People must’ve lost their lives, identity, savings, name and reputation, but sometimes it is nothing more than an episode to us. What about their families who live and relive those incidents again and again? The coldness with which we can change the channel for a ‘seen episode’ is what worries me. This isn’t right.