When the Savior Becomes the Killer

A Crime Diaries Exclusive | June 2025

Introduction – When Systems Start Killing

In India, some deaths don’t happen because of illness or criminals they happen because the system chooses to do nothing.

Hospitals delay treatment. Police ignore desperate cries. Government offices remain asleep. And the courts? Sometimes, justice comes too late to matter.

These are not accidents. These are slow deaths caused by silence, delay, and official neglect. These are real stories of people who begged for help, but the system simply turned away.

Shraddha Walkar – She Wrote a Complaint, But the Police Waited Until It Was Too Late

Shraddha Walkar’s murder in 2022 shocked the entire country. Her live-in partner, Aftab Poonawalla, strangled her, chopped her body into 35 pieces, and slowly disposed of them in Delhi’s Mehrauli forest.

But the real tragedy started much earlier in November 2020, when Shraddha filed a written complaint at the Tulinj police station in Vasai, Maharashtra.

She wrote:

“Aftab has been abusing me and beating me. Today he tried to kill me by suffocating me and he scares and blackmails me. If something happens to me, hold him responsible.”

Despite the seriousness of her words, the police treated it as a domestic issue. No FIR was filed. No protective action was taken.

Later, Shraddha withdrew her complaint, reportedly after Aftab apologized and under emotional pressure from her own family. She moved on with him, even though the danger hadn’t gone away it had only been delayed.

Two years later, her worst fear came true not in Vasai, but in Delhi. She was murdered in cold blood. And the system that could’ve saved her had already missed its chance.

Hathras Rape Case – When Justice Was Burnt With Her Body

In September 2020, a 19-year-old Dalit girl from Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, was gang-raped by four upper-caste men. She was brutally attacked, left with a broken spine, and couldn’t speak for days.

She was shifted from hospital to hospital first in Aligarh, then in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital and finally, she died after fighting for her life for 15 days.

But the most horrifying part came after her death.

The UP Police forcibly cremated her body at 2 AM, without the family’s permission. Her parents weren’t even allowed to attend their daughter’s final rites. They were locked inside their house as police lit the pyre under the cover of darkness.

It wasn’t just her body that was burnt. Justice, dignity, and humanity also turned to ashes that night.

Chhattisgarh Sterilisation Tragedy – Where Poor Women Were Treated Like Numbers

In November 2014, a sterilization camp was held in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, as part of a government population control program. Over 80 women underwent laparoscopic tubectomy a serious surgery in just a few hours, all performed by one doctor.

Within days, 15 women died, and many others fell seriously ill.

Investigations later found that antibiotics given to the women were contaminated with zinc phosphide a chemical used in rat poison. The camp was run in filthy conditions, and basic medical guidelines were ignored.

These women were from poor, rural families. They were told the surgery was “safe” and “rewarded” with ₹600. But what they got instead was death because the system was more focused on meeting sterilization targets than saving lives.

Jhansi NICU Fire – A Hospital Became a Death Trap

On the night of November 15, 2024, a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.

The NICU had space for only 18 babies, but that night, over 50 infants were admitted more than double the safe limit.

When the fire started around 10:30 PM, fire alarms didn’t go off, and the extinguishers were expired. It took over 30 minutes for the fire brigade to arrive.

Parents smashed windows with bare hands to save their babies. A nurse named Megha, suffering burns herself, managed to rescue 14 infants.

But it wasn’t enough. At least 18 newborns died. Some choked on the smoke, others were burned. For many parents, their child’s first day was also their last not because of illness, but because basic safety systems didn’t work.

Kerala Ambulance Death – The Ride That Took Away Life

In June 2025, in Kerala’s Malappuram district, a newborn baby was diagnosed with breathing trouble right after birth. Doctors referred the baby to another hospital, but the ambulance that arrived had no ventilator.

As the family rushed to save the baby’s life, the child’s condition worsened on the road. By the time they reached the second hospital, he was gone.

This wasn’t a remote tribal village. This was Kerala, a state known for its good healthcare. Yet, one missing machine cost a life. In India, even when treatment is available transport becomes the killer.

Two Women, One System – Death in Raipur and Pain in Ayodhya

In May 2025, 24-year-old Sakshi Nishad gave birth at a government health centre near Raipur, Chhattisgarh. But there was no doctor. Only a ward boy was attending deliveries.

After childbirth, Sakshi began bleeding heavily. With no doctor around and no emergency support, she bled to death in minutes.

In Ayodhya’s Rudauli area, a woman in labour was denied hospital entry because her paperwork wasn’t complete. With no option left, she delivered her baby on the roadside. Thankfully, both survived but the risk could have easily turned fatal.

These aren’t isolated cases. They’re everyday proof that being poor in India often means being invisible to the system.

The Hidden Trauma – Pain That Doesn’t Go Away

What happens to families after such deaths?

Psychologists call it “systemic trauma” when people suffer long-term emotional wounds because the system failed them.

Parents of the infants who died in Jhansi still say, “We handed over our babies to the hospital with trust. But now we go home with nothing.”

This kind of trauma leads to mental health issues, trust breakdown, fear, and lifelong grief. And the worst part? There is rarely anyone held accountable. No one from the system says sorry.

A Pattern That Repeats

When you look at these stories together, a clear pattern appears:

• Victims warned the system → No action

• Facilities existed → But weren’t working

• People begged for help → But were ignored

• Lives were lost → But no one punished

India has many systems hospitals, police, courts, welfare offices but without empathy and accountability, they become silent killers.

Final Words – They Didn’t Die of Fate, They Died of Neglect

These people didn’t die because it was written in their fate. They died because those responsible to protect them didn’t act in time or didn’t care enough to try.

From a woman who wrote her own death warning, to infants suffocating in fire, to poor mothers dying without doctors these are not just individual tragedies.

These are failures wearing government IDs, sitting inside official buildings, protected by long processes and short memories.

We must stop calling these deaths “accidents.”

Because when you see the pattern it’s murder. Just slower. Just silent.

Disclaimer:

This article is intended for public awareness, responsible journalism, and constructive critique of institutional and systemic failures. All incidents, dates, and data mentioned are based on publicly available reports and verified news sources. The purpose is not to target any individual or organization personally, but to highlight patterns of neglect that demand accountability. If any information appears inaccurate or outdated, we welcome factual corrections.

📚 Verified Sources:

• Shraddha Walkar Complaint: NDTV, Indian Express, The Print

• Hathras Case: BBC News, Indian Express, The Hindu

• Sterilization Tragedy (2014): India Today, Times of India

• Jhansi NICU Fire (2024): India Today, Amar Ujala, Dainik Bhaskar

• Kerala Newborn Death (2025): Times of India

• Raipur & Ayodhya Cases (2025): Hindustan Times, Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran