Written by Shruti Udayan,
NLU Jodhpur,
July 2025
Introduction
“The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.” -Bill Gates.
Social media which was created as a beacon of interconnectedness and a powerful engine for social change, which once hailed as a revolutionary tool for spreading awareness and amplifying voices. Though its central purpose continues to be the sharing of information and awareness raising, a sombre trend has been observed in India: the unwitting effect of graphic true-crime stories affecting and, in a few cases, apparently inspiring actual atrocities. This phenomenon, often termed “copycat crime” is a chilling testament to how the pervasive nature of digital content can blur the lines between fiction and reality, transforming cautionary tales into perverse blueprints for heinous acts. [1]True crime documentaries and viral news stories, while intended to inform and caution, are now inspiring real-world criminal acts. This blog explores this phenomenon through two major examples: the Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story documentary effect and the recent spate of spousal murders motivated by extramarital affairs.
The Power Abuse of Social Media
The immediacy and reach of social media make it an effective vehicle for both awareness and criminal inspiration. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are platforms that have now become arenas in which criminality is both debated and, in certain instances, plotted. The anonymity and ease of quick information dissemination enable criminals to disseminate methods, coordinate crimes and even garner validation from online groups. Criminal groups and networks employ encrypted messaging platforms and social media to organize their activities, which proves challenging for law enforcement to track or intercept. Cybercrime also seems to be increasing, with phishing, identity theft and scams spreading across social networks. But in addition to expressing crime, the trend-setting character of social media has a less obvious yet more insidious influence: the normalization and sensationalization of violence. The focus isn’t on direct incitement, but on the subtle yet profound influence that detailed and widely circulated crime narratives can have, offering a perverse blueprint for those predisposed to violence or seeking notoriety.
The Dahmer Echo in India: A Macabre Manual for Mutilation
The release of Netflix’s “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” in September 2022, while aiming to raise awareness about the horrific acts of a serial killer, inadvertently created a chilling ripple effect across the globe including India.[2] The show’s graphic portrayal of dismemberment and body disposal methods intended to shock and inform, seeped into the collective consciousness. This phenomenon became starkly apparent with the emergence of the Shraddha Walkar murder case in November 2022. Aaftab Amin Poonawala, accused of murdering his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar on May 18, 2022 and then dismembering her body into 35 pieces, storing them in a refrigerator and disposing of them over several days in Delhi’s Chhatarpur forest shocked the whole nation.[3] The striking similarities to Dahmer’s methods, particularly the meticulous dismemberment and methodical disposal were impossible to ignore. While police did not officially confirm direct inspiration from “Dahmer”, media reports widely speculated on the influence of crime shows with some reports even suggesting Poonawala had watched “Dexter” to learn about body disposal.
It is important to realize that Indian law enforcement does not usually classify crimes along the lines of media inspiration. It is hence difficult to get direct official statistical information connecting the “Dahmer” series or the Shraddha Walkar case with an absolute increase in copycat dismemberment crimes. But the time that followed the public disclosure of the Shraddha Walkar case witnessed a spate of media reports on similar cases of gruesome body disposal. Although these may have taken place regardless of the Netflix show, their increased visibility and the continuous comparison in the public eye highlight an unhealthy trend: the normalizing and even detailing of extreme criminal practices. The high number of web discussions and news commentary pairing alike strongly hinted at a perceived connection, impacting public and even investigative discourse.
The “Lover’s Leap”: Betrayal and Brutality Amplified
Another highly disturbing trend fueled by social media includes instances of women, especially wives, killing husbands for a lover. Once such stories receive popular attention, they tend to analyze the “how-to” involved, in effect offering a twisted guide for others who are also considering such extreme measures. The just-revealed Sonam Raghuvanshi case, reported in June 2025 is a compelling instance. Sonam Raghuvanshi of Indore is charged with planning the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya along with her supposed lover Raj Kushwaha and contract killers. Raja’s corpse was discovered in a gorge on June 2, 2025.[4] The case instantly made people recall the Muskan Rastogi case of Meerut which came to light in March 2024. In that case, Muskan Rastogi and her boyfriend, Sahil Shukla had allegedly killed her husband, Saurabh Rajput, a former merchant navy officer and then chopped his body into pieces placing the remains in a cement-filled drum.[5] Both instances, apart in time but brought together in their terrible circumstances and motive, were centers of high-profile media attention and social media chatter. The very careful unpicking of the conspiracy, the mechanisms of the killings and the attempted cover-up, all explained in graphic detail on social media unwittingly inform individuals with similar evil impulses.
As with the “Dahmer effect” there is no official quantifiable direct statistical spike in “wife kills husband for lover” crimes resulting from social media pressure. But its effect is more in the direction of trend-setting, the way that the public exposure and detailed description of these stories in the online world feed into the recognition that there is more of this sort of thing about and, more importantly, a “normalisation” of these extreme measures. In the wake of the Muskan Rastogi incident (March 2024), news outlets picked up on a number of other wife murder cases, frequently involving an entangled lover, which received popular online traction. Although crime does not begin here, the level of detail disclosed, the public surmising of motives and the broad sharing of these stories through social media channels make an environment where equivalent acts, no matter how uncommon, become more attainable or plausible. For example, most regional media and social media platforms carried in-depth reports of similar incidents from across India, giving the impression that this specific modus operandi was catching on, even though the absolute numbers were not astronomically higher. This increased exposure, not a statistical outbreak, is the essence of social media as a “trendsetter” of crime.
The Legal Tightrope: Freedom vs. Responsibility in India’s Digital Sphere
Legally, in India the social media function as a crime trendsetter is a challenge of sorts, reconciling constitutional liberties with public order.
Freedom of Speech vs. Public Order: Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution ensures freedom of speech and expression.[6] That freedom, however, is not unfettered and is open to reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order, decency or morality (Article 19(2)). The key legal issue is: at what point does detailed reporting or dramatization of a crime on social media become crossing the line from public information to possibly inciting or serving as a model for criminality? This is an area, as yet, with no direct legislation explicitly aimed at “copycat crime” fueled by the media.
Contempt of Court and Fair Trial: Sensationalization of current investigations and trials on social media is frequently on the borderline of “trial by media” prejudicing judicial proceedings. The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971[7], is in place to avert this interference. It is, however, extremely challenging to make this apply to the shapeless and vast stream of social media content. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 which supersedes the antiquated CrPC, contains provisions that, although do not specifically address the role of media in copycat crime, seek to rationalize investigations and provide protection to victims, indirectly bringing to the foreground the necessity for responsible reporting.[8]
Ethical Standards and Self-Regulation: Organizations such as the Press Council of India (PCI) give ethical standards to mainstream media, advising against sensationalism and the release of explicit details likely to cause injury to public order or prejudice a trial.[9] The PCI’s power is limited, and its standards do not automatically extend to individual social media users or to OTT services such as Netflix, which are subject to alternative forms of regulation in India. The Information Technology Rules, 2021 placed the OTT platforms under a self-regulatory code, but the emphasis here is on content categorization and grievance redressal than on the possibility of crime inspiration.
The Intent vs. Impact Dilemma: Legally, it is very challenging to prove intent to encourage crime with content. The majority of true-crime content seeks to inform or entertain. The catch is to respond to the unintentional effect of such content when it goes viral and reaches vulnerable audiences.
Conclusion: A Call for Conscious Content Creation and Consumption
The unsettling pattern of awareness drives and crime storytelling unintentionally fueling criminal waves in India demands a multi-faceted strategy. It’s a tightrope act between educating the populace and not inadvertently spreading grisly techniques. The “Dahmer effect” and the haunting similarities in instances such as Shraddha Walkar along with the shocking similarities in wife killings such as Muskan Rastogi and Sonam Raghuvanshi, provide a grim reminder. Although the motive of true-crime shows might be honorable to dissect human psychology, reveal institutional failures or speak for victims, the unquestioning viewing and sensationalized propagation on social media can prove cataclysmic.
For those producing true-crime content there is a pressing ethical obligation to take into account the possibility of “instructional” influence. Ethical storytelling must affirm victim sensitivity, systemic critique and justice-seeking over dwelling on sensationalized details of criminal practice. For social media companies and traditional news institutions, more accountability is required in curating and broadcasting content to ensure that sensationalism does not cloud ethical reporting. Lastly, for the public developing critical media literacy and awareness is key. The ability to discern entertainment, education and possibly harmful content is an essential skill in negotiating the ever complicated digital age, where the distinction between creating awareness and shaping a deadly trend is fast becoming alarmingly thin.
[1]Donghee Yvette Wohn et al., The Role of Social Media in Shaping First-Generation High School Students’ College Aspirations: A Social Capital Lens, 87 COMPUTERS & EDUC. 312 (2015), https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1359178915000336.
[2] Netflix, Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes: Everything You Need to Know, TUDUM (Oct. 2022), https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/conversations-with-a-killer-the-jeffrey-dahmer-tapes-release-date-cast-news.
[3] The Hindu, Aftab Cut Shraddha’s Body into 17 Pieces, Kept Shifting It Between Fridge and Kitchen Cabinets, THE HINDU (Nov. 15, 2022), https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/aftab-cut-shraddhas-body-into-17-pieces-kept-shifting-it-between-fridge-and-kitchen-cabinets/article66483093.ece.
[4] NDTV, Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raja Raghuvanshi: In Honeymoon Murder Case, 119 Calls by Sonam Raghuvanshi and a New Name, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sonam-raghuvanshi-raja-raghuvanshi-in-honeymoon-murder-case-119-calls-by-sonam-raghuvanshi-and-a-new-name-8697982 (June 18, 2025, 1:32 PM IST).
[5] India Today, Meerut Woman, Husband Murder: Chopped Body in Cement-Filled Drum, Lover Arrested, https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/meerut-woman-husband-murder-chopped-body-cement-filled-drum-lover-arrested-2695818-2025-03-19 (Mar. 19, 2025, 12:00 AM IST).
[6] India Const. art. 19, cl. 1(a).
[7] The Contempt of Courts Act, No. 70 of 1971, India Code (1971).
[8] Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, No. 46 of 2023, India Code (2023).
[9] The Press Council Act, No. 37 of 1978, India Code (1978).
