A horrific crime in Shikohabad, Uttar Pradesh, has shocked the nation. On May 30, 2026, a 24-year-old man, Jitendra Pathak alias Viraj, allegedly murdered toddler Aarav after developing an obsessive one-sided fixation on the child’s mother, Rati Devi. Police say he saw the little boy as an “obstacle” after repeated marriage proposals were rejected.
Rati Devi (24), Aarav’s mother and a teacher, had separated from her husband due to marital disputes and was staying at her parental home in Yadav Colony, Shikohabad. She was in the process of seeking a divorce. Jitendra Pathak, a grocery shop owner from Budaun district, was a cousin of Rati’s husband. He had been helping the family with legal matters related to the divorce, which allowed him to get close to them.
: Jitendra allegedly developed feelings for Rati and repeatedly proposed marriage to her. She rejected him multiple times, partly because she had a young child. Police say he viewed the toddler as an “obstacle” to his plans. On the day of the incident, he followed Rati and her mother (Pinki Devi) to Shikohabad, where they were staying at a friend’s house while consulting a lawyer.
On May 30 afternoon (around 2:30 PM), Jitendra lured little Aarav outside on the pretext of buying him a toffee/candy. He took the child to a deserted stretch of road about 50 meters from the house.
According to police and CCTV footage reviewed during the investigation, he allegedly slammed/threw the toddler onto the ground repeatedly at least eight times in a short span (reports mention around 34 seconds in some accounts). The child suffered fatal injuries.
Jitendra then left the child near the gate of the house and fled the scene. Family members discovered Aarav about 10 minutes later, rushed him to a hospital, but he was declared dead. A postmortem confirmed the cause of death from blunt force trauma.
An FIR was registered at Shikohabad police station under relevant sections for murder Multiple police teams were formed. Acting on a tip-off that Jitendra was trying to evade arrest near Mainpuri Road (Bhudha Bharthara intersection area), officers cordoned off the spot.
When police tried to stop and question him, he allegedly opened fire. Police retaliated, and Jitendra sustained a gunshot wound to the leg (some reports mention both legs). He was overpowered and arrested within hours of the crime.
Weapon Recovered: A .315-bore country-made pistol, two empty cartridges, and five live cartridges were seized from him.
He was hospitalized for treatment (videos of him on a stretcher, reportedly crying for water, went viral). He confessed during initial interrogation, admitting the motive tied to the rejected proposal.
Current Status and Updates (as of June 1, 2026)Jitendra remains in custody and under treatment. Investigation is ongoing.
The case has sparked widespread outrage across Uttar Pradesh and India, with public demands for the strictest punishment (many calling for death penalty). The mother and family have demanded justice. The details are graphic and heartbreaking; the family, especially the mother Rati, is devastated.
This crime has been widely condemned as an act of pure evil driven by toxic obsession and revenge. It highlights tragic failures in protecting vulnerable children amid familial disputes.
Under India’s new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which replaced the IPC in 2024, the Shikohabad toddler murder case is being treated as a clear case of murder. Police registered the FIR under BNS Section 103(1), which provides punishment of death or life imprisonment for murder.
Investigators say the case carries several grave aggravating factors: the victim was a helpless toddler barely two years old, the attack was allegedly brutal and deliberate, and the motive stemmed from a revenge-driven obsession after the accused’s repeated marriage proposals to the child’s mother were rejected. CCTV footage, forensic findings, witness accounts, and the accused’s reported confession are expected to form key parts of the prosecution’s case.
Indian courts apply the “rarest of rare” doctrine while deciding whether a death sentence should be awarded. Factors such as extreme cruelty, vulnerability of the victim, and premeditated intent are considered heavily. While public outrage has led to widespread demands for capital punishment, courts award the death penalty sparingly, with life imprisonment often remaining the more common outcome in heinous crimes.
The accused, Jitendra Pathak alias Viraj, is currently in police custody and under medical treatment following his arrest after an alleged encounter with police. Investigators are preparing a strong chargesheet, while the case continues to spark outrage and calls for swift justice across the country.
The final verdict and sentencing, however, will depend on the evidence presented during trial and the decision of the court.
For decades, many Indian films have romanticized obsession by portraying relentless pursuit, stalking, emotional pressure, and refusal to accept “no” as proof of “true love.” Heroes chase women endlessly, invade their privacy, threaten self-harm, fight rivals, or wear down resistance until the woman finally “falls in love.” These narratives blur the line between affection and control, teaching generations that persistence is more important than consent. As a result, some men grow up believing rejection is humiliation rather than a normal human boundary. When cinema repeatedly glorifies possessiveness as romance, it can leave emotionally immature minds unable to process rejection with dignity, sometimes turning heartbreak into anger, harassment, or even violence.
