Nagpur: A disturbing clash for dominance in Bhandara this week cut short a young life, serving a grim wake-up call about the escalating crisis of teen aggression.A 15-year-old Class 9 student, while preparing for a final fight, bought a knife online which he used to stab another teen, a year elder to him, on August 18. The victim, along with friends, was returning from school when the confrontation took place. His school bag was found at the murder spot.The juvenile walked straight to the police station to surrender and was sent to the govt observation shelter in Nagpur. A case of murder was registered at Bhandara police station.What began as neighbourhood friction and a petty dispute between schoolboys on the streets seven months ago, escalated into a fatal confrontation in Mendha area of Bhandara city, 400m off the local police station, in which the 16-year-old was killed. The teen assailant’s father is jobless and an alcoholic, while his mother is a vegetable seller. The victim, Anshu Yerkade, a Class 10 student, was declared dead in the hospital.“As per preliminary accounts, the peer group repeatedly was engaged in provocations, staring matches and neighbourhood hostility to establish dominance since the January 26 skirmish. There are no criminal antecedents of either the victim or juvenile,” said SP Bhandara Noorul Hasan.Driven by a toxic desire to prove who was stronger, the environment grew volatile, but no one approached the police, said a senior official.Fearing for his safety and cornered by the relentless tension, the 15-year-old took the decision to arm himself with a knife.When the two sides converged for a face-off near Mendha, the situation spiralled past the point of no return. “The 15-year-old was alone and was surrounded by the 16-year-old and his group who slapped him repeatedly before he brandished the knife and attacked the rivals,” said the senior official. The victim suffered fatal blows on stomach, chest and other parts of the body.
