Crime is common, but as time passes it becomes more and more illogical and sensational. May 2025 saw the ‘Honeymoon Horror’ in Meghalaya where the wife killed her husband Raja Raghuvanshi with the help of her ‘lover’.  June 2026 Ketan Agarwal is killed by his wife to be Siya Goyal with the help of her ‘lover’. Both accused in their 20 something. Both didn’t have their wits about them or they were so high on something they couldn’t stop themselves from committing a heinous crime.  

Something else is happening on the side-lines. There used to be a time when laughter was the best medicine. Now it seems to land people in hot water and for good reason because good humour has been replaced with crass, vulgar jokes that seem to know no boundaries. You might have guessed already, the reference is to the stand-up comedians, who have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Kunal Kamra, Ranveer Allahabadia, Tanmay Bhatt, Samay Raina and more recently names like Pranit More and Sejal Pawar, (an aspiring female doctor) who are to be named and shamed for crass, vulgar and loutish humour that crosses all boundaries. They can’t tell obscenity from art of decent comedy. Since when did lewd become normal?

But let’s talk about rising female criminality. Shop lifting was the all-time favourite crime of women until the CCTV cameras came in. Honey traps, mules, sex delinquents, prostitution are the traditionally known crimes women commit. Stand-up comedy that titillates can be added to that list now. 

We all know about Phoolan Devi - the original victim turned victimizer as the Bandit Queen. And we grew up listening to the stories of rakshasis and vish kanyas - Pootana and Tataka. So, female criminals are not entirely new to us. 

Data on crime from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that though women criminals are a minority compared to male criminals convicted for heinous crimes, the number of females arrested for criminal activities show a sharp increase in recent years.  Between 2015 and 2020, women’s arrests increased by 10% even as male arrests dropped by 21%. Approximately 3.55 lakh women were arrested in 2020. While the vast majority (99.5%) were charge-sheeted, only about 8.6% were actually convicted. The nature of crimes has altered now. Under Special and Local Laws, an unusual 91% of convicted women were found guilty of liquor and narcotics-related offences. More women are also now part of male dacoit gangs.  

Changing social values, urbanisation, weakening social structures, fragmentation of family unit are said to be the reasons for this trend of rising female criminality. With no real life meaningful connections, these youngsters are Insta addicts, Netflix aficionados, Amazon prime buffs. What kind of crap do they consume on the OTT platforms – crime thrillers, trashy reality TV shows, B grade, C grade films, blue films, mass formula sagas peddling stuff that make you cringe. There is an overabundance of crappy content on OTT. Watching this kind of content is one thing, but getting carried away and committing crime is next level. Don’t they think of the consequences? Or are they too confident of getting out on bail and getting away with it? 

Where is the society headed? Who benefits from destroying the family structure and creating instability in Indian society?

The very same invisible forces and elements that own the OTT platforms leverage the instability of the Gen Z in collusion with political parties for larger gains. There is no point closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. What will you do with an empty stable?  Timely action is needed from everyone – parents, families, government, law enforcers and well-wishers of society.