A couple of days ago, the news of Ashwin Kashyap, who was known as Johnny Dada on TikTok, killing three people in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, made the headlines. Immensely popular on TikTok, Ashwin, who was in hiding after committing the crimes late last month, killed himself when the police finally found him on a bus a week later.
Between September 26 and 30, Ashwin murdered two relatives of a local BJP leader, Bhim Sen, and Nikita Sharma, a Dubai-returned air hostess with whom Ashwin was obsessed. One of the most contentious discoveries in the aftermath of these murders and his death by suicide has been Ashwin’s posts on social media including TikTok. And one that caught attention was a clip of him mouthing a dialogue from the controversial film Kabir Singh, which goes, “Jo mera nahi ho sakta, use kisi aur ke hone ka mauka nahi doonga.” (I will not let someone who cannot be mine become someone else’s either).
His now deactivated social media accounts also reportedly had photographs of Shahid Kapoor from Kabir Singh.
Director Sandeep Vanga Reddy, who made Kabir Singh as well as the Telugu original Arjun Reddy, has responded to the ghastly crime, and the fact that Ashwin seemed to be relating to Kabir’s character by saying neither film supported murder. Speaking to Mid-Day, Sandeep said that he felt sorry for the woman’s (Nikita) family. “As filmmakers, we are responsible for our craft and need to consider the repercussions, but never have my films [endorsed] killing anyone. Kabir Singh or even Arjun Reddy never [supported] murder,” he said.
He added that Ashwin seemed to be “having some psychological issue”, and that people like him often look up to celebrities like Bollywood stars, sportspersons and politicians. “If you see Shahid's character in the film, he is a self-destructive person who is harming himself more than anyone else,” Sandeep said.
According to reports, the Daulatabad village that Nikita had recently returned to was Ashwin’s maternal home. According to police, Ashwin and Nikita’s families knew each other, and while Ashwin had been interested in her since the time they were in school, she did not reciprocate his feelings. As per Nikita’s brother, the duo was never in a relationship, though a 14-page note by Ashwin claims that he and Nikita were in a relationship from 2002 to 2017. However, a police official told Hindustan Times that Ashwin may have “imagined” the relationship.
Ashwin even alluded to his plan to kill her in the note: “Main tumse upar aakar saare gila shikwa mita loonga.” (I’ll settle my problems with you after death.)
Nikita was to marry a sub-inspector in the CRPF in December.