Crime and cupid: Intriguing romance of criminals

After one of the most headline-grabbing and glitzy pre-wedding functions in the recent past(Anant Ambani and his soon-to-be wife Radhika Merchant) just a few days ago, a drastically different romantic union has captured the public’s imagination in the past week or so: the nuptials of two of India’s high profile criminals, Gangster Sandeep alias Kala Jathedi and ‘history sheeter’, Anuradha Chaudhary who also goes by the moniker ‘Madam Minz’, in Delhi’s Dwarka.

It was an unusual wedding with most of the baraatis/wedding guests being heavily armed policemen, including SWAT commandoes carrying hi-tech weapons, deployed to prevent the gangster from escaping and also to protect him from rival gangs’ assassination attempts. Sandeep who is currently incarcerated at Tihar jail was granted parole between 10 am to 4 pm to complete his wedding rituals. A known associate of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Kala Jathedi faces over a dozen cases of armed robbery, attempts to murder, murder and extortion in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. His lady love Anuradha Chaudhary is no shy bride, a ‘history sheeter’ herself currently out on bail, and facing several cases involving money laundering, abduction, and illegal arms in Rajasthan and Delhi.

The lovey-dovey twosome’s romance reportedly started in 2020, when they were introduced through a mutual associate Vicky Singh in Indore. Delhi Special Cell proved to be quite the Grinch as they arrested our local Bonnie and Clyde-inspired couple from a dhaba on the Yamuna-Saharanpur expressway in July of 2021. The couple remained devoted to each other and finally married on Tuesday, 12 February, 2024.

Though probably not an aspiration to most people, this unsociable and misanthropic love story is the stuff movie scripts and novels are made of.

There is a word for it in the English dictionary: hybristophilia. It is defined as feeling romantic or sexual arousal for criminals or an act of crime by itself. Psychologists say, shared experiences or common tendencies and habits are often an emotional binding factor, so this could also be a reason for real-life criminal couples to fall in love with each other.

As distasteful as this phenomenon might be, there are many such couples in history, their infatuation and intimacy ignited by a common passion for psychopathic/criminal behaviour. Some of the more high-profile precedents for such romantic unions are:

Bonnie and Clyde: One of the most iconic outlaw couples of the 20th century Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were idolized for their dedication to each other through prison breaks, robberies and murder. They met each other at a mutual friend’s place in West Dallas, USA, but their budding romance was quickly cut short when Clyde was imprisoned for auto theft, his crime just catapulting Bonnie’s affection for him. Classic case of hybristopholia.

Bonnie helped him escape by smuggling a gun into prison and the two soon descended into a life of crime, committing robberies, burglaries and murders for the next couple of years around Texas and the Midwest while they remained on the run. They were finally killed in a shootout when they were ambushed by law enforcement officials on the side of a highway in Lousiana in May, 1934. Their “love story” was further romanticised when the 1967 “Bonnie and Clyde” movie was released. The film received heavy criticism for its glorification of their heinous crimes, but their status in pop culture was firmly secured.

Joseph and Jenny Carrier: They might have looked like your average rosy-cheeked suburban American married couple, but Joseph and Jenny robbed five banks in five states in USA in October, 2015. According to news reports, Jerry would enter the banks and claim he was armed while demanding large bills while his wife Jenny would drive the getaway car, a Buick, apparently stolen from the dealership where she had worked. The couple were also notorious heroin addicts who had lost all their money to their addiction.

Anuradha Chaudhary and Anandpal Singh: Closer home, Anuradha Chaudhary aka Madam Minz, makes another appearance. Before Kala Jathedi, she was romantically involved with her ‘mentor’ gangster Anandpal Singh who was her adviser and guide during her upward climb in the life of crime. He taught her how to fire fancy rifles while she tried to sophisticate him, teaching him English, upgrading his wardrobe and generally advising him on the ways and habits of a gentleman. This love story ended in tragedy when Anandpal Singh was killed in a raid by authorities in 2017.

Gwendolyn Graham and Catherine May Wood: Known as the ‘Lethal Lovers’ Gwendolyn and Catherine were working at a nursing home in 1986 when they fell in love. In 1987, according to Catherine’s account, Gwendolyn smothered an elderly Alzheimer patient to death apparently in a bid to ‘release tension’. Over the next four months, the couple killed four more patients in what they characterized to be some sort of ‘love ritual’. The deaths were not considered suspicious and it was only later in 1988 that these crimes came to light when Catherine’s ex-husband in whom she had confided about these murders, reported it to the authorities.

Raylene and Antony Szarvak: Australian couple Raylene and Antony Szarvak, a married couple went on an armed crime spree across the city of Melbourne in 2010. Raylene, 29, a mother of four, rode a green Kawasaki motorbike with her husband Antony, wielding a .357 Magnum revolved as the twosome ravaged their way through the Western suburbs of the city. While their young children were babysat at home, Mummy and Daddy burgled five venues in one month robbing upto $33,000. Australia’s Armed Crimes Taskforce eventually nabbed the violent couple as they began to expand their activities into Melbourne’s East.

You can’t do epic things with basic people, they say, but to those looking for love: Please try finding a common love for tennis and Japanese food if possible.

The author is a freelance journalist and features writer based out of Delhi. Her main areas of focus are politics, social issues, climate change and lifestyle-related topics. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.