Youth killed as gang war, blood spill on city streets over territory control

Raipur: A brutal gang war over local dominance in Chhattisgarh's capital turned deadly after a group of youths — including a minor — allegedly stabbed a 21-year-old man to death and critically injured another, triggering sharp protests from the Opposition over escalating knife attacks in Raipur.Police have arrested five people, including the 17-year-old juvenile, stating that the fight was linked to territorial rivalry and old enmity within a local gang circle. The incident falls under the City Kotwali limits and has sparked political outrage over law-and-order failures.On Tuesday, the Opposition Congress staged a protest in front of Telibandha police station against rising crime, demanding an immediate curb on criminal activities.Despite police claims that crime has declined in Raipur in 2025, the city has witnessed an increasing number of stabbings, leaving many injured or dead. Police had earlier written to several online shopping platforms to stop home deliveries of knives, and in some cases, booked the platforms involved.The victim, Aditya Kurre, 21, of Bhanpuri area, was having friendly drinks with acquaintances when Lokesh Vishwakarma, 25, his aide, and a minor — reignited an old dispute over ‘varchasva' (territory control), which escalated into an argument and then a fight on Sunday.Police said the group surrounded Aditya, assaulted him with fists and kicks, and then Lokesh and another attacker pulled out knives and stabbed him 8–10 times, causing him to collapse on the road. Victim's friend Abhay Sarthi, who tried to intervene, was also attacked and left seriously injured. CCTV footage shows youths running with knives in their hands, police said. At the time of the attack, street lights in the locality were switched off, leading investigators to suspect that the assault had been planned in advance.Locals rushed Aditya and Abhay to hospital. Doctors declared Aditya brought dead, while Abhay remains in critical condition.Telibandha police have arrested five accused — Lokesh Vishwakarma (25), Divyansh Dhruv (20), Anuj Yadav (19), Aakash Vishwakarma (24), and the juvenile. Lokesh and Aakash Vishwakarma are brothers and both are on the police "goonda list", having served imprisonment for multiple cases of scuffles and attacks, officers said.‘Criminals no longer fear police or the law'Calling the gang war and stabbing incident an example of "jungle raj" under the BJP government, senior spokesperson of the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee, Surendra Verma, said Raipur has now become the "crime capital". "In the past year alone, Raipur recorded 92 murders, 280 rapes, and 543 stabbing incidents. The gang war, he said, was the result of a fight over ganja trade, extortion, and territorial dominance. Criminals have completely lost the fear of police and the law. People are being butchered like vegetables," Verma said. Criticising the street lights being switched off across the Telibandha area, Congress said the government's intelligence system has completely collapsed, and people are being forced to live in fear.