Rashmi Rekha Das

The Delhi police on November 12 arrested Aftab Amin Poonawala for the gruesome murder of his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar. Aftab murdered his live-in partner Shraddha and chopped her body into 35 pieces before disposing them at various locations in Mehrauli forest on the outskirts of Delhi. 

The crime has triggered widespread outrage in the country, with people demanding that the accused Aftab be hanged till death. Meanwhile, psychiatrists termed Aftab a full-fledged psychopath saying people who do such things are suffering from psychopathy disorder. 

Romantic, caring, sweet, charming - these are often qualities you desire in your partners. Aftab had all these qualities to impress Shraddha. As obvious, Shraddha had never imagined that her fairytale love story would face such consequences and her partner would stack pieces of her fleshes in the refrigerator only to be thrown around in the forest.

As the Delhi murder case continues to send shivers down our spine, it is really important to understand how to identify such people who hide such barbarism behind the facade of a regular person. 

Here are some signs to know whether you are dating a psychopath:

They are extremely charming

Psychopaths know the tricks to charm you. They may pretend to have the same likes, dislikes, and hobbies as their partners, or they may pretend to have similar life experiences. They use their charisma to get you hooked on the relationship and then turn cold in the middle of it.

They have no sense of guilt or remorse 

Psychopaths love making scenes because they literally don’t have the ability to feel guilty or remorse. They are simply damn good at pretending to feel bad about the harm they have inflicted. They act like they are ashamed of something they have done and feign sorrow. Besides, they fake guilt in order to be consoled with the goal of getting attention. They just do opposite of what you expect. Sometimes, they vent frustration or rage instead of feeling sadness or guilt.

Freeloading lifestyle

Most psychopaths are nomadic by nature. They cannot feign stability. Frankly speaking, they live off of others. Paradoxically, this allows them to appear free, which plays into their alluring charm. They use others to gain resources, such as money or shelter. They intentionally form bonds with others perceived to have influence.

They fast-track your relationship

Partners having psychopathic tendencies use an emotional connection against you by moving fast in the relationship, overpowering you with romantic gestures to make you feel indebted to them. 

They tend to be superior 

Psychopaths have big egos and think they are superior to everyone else. They simply never acknowledge their mistake when they are wrong. They always believe that they are the best. They demean people connected to them.

They don’t own responsibility

They are like free birds. They are incapable of owning responsibility for their actions. They may give you reasons but always avoid taking any responsibility. They love sitting idle. They play victims when held accountable for their disgusting behaviours.

Short relationship history

Because psychopaths are unable to experience feelings, their partners often break things off. They never stick to one relationship. They were into many short-term relationships before falling in love with you. They always blame previous relationship woes on ex. They do not take any responsibility for collapse of prior relationships.

They gaslight you

Psychopaths mess with your perception of reality. Gaslighting is a form of manipulation in which your partner denies that something ever happened, making you doubt your own mind and memory. Psychopaths use gaslighting to get what they want from you. For instance: Your partner may do something abusive and then say ‘That never happened’.

They may have criminal past

Most all psychopaths have a criminal past but not all of them have legally charged with a crime. They have a history of stealing or theft, animal cruelty and aggressive behaviours with a history or juvenile delinquency.

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