By Shekhar Singh

New Delhi, May 2 (IANS): Dreaded gangster Tillu Tajpuriya was stabbed by his rival Jitender Gogi's aides in the high-security Tihar prison in Delhi on Tuesday morning, but little is known about the tale of the two criminals who were once childhood friends and gradually turned into worst enemies.

The gang war between Tillu aka Sunil Tajpuriya and Gogi gang has been escalating over the past decade, leading to the loss of several lives and unrest in Delhi and Haryana areas.

Tajpuriya was even the prime accused in the killing of his rival gangster Jitender Singh Maan, also known as Gogi, inside a courtroom in Rohini Court complex in September 2021.

The incident had highlighted the gang war between two notorious gangs.

Maan and Sunil Tajpuriya, who ran the Tillu gang, hailed from the same village on the outskirts of Delhi.

Sources suggest that they were childhood friends who once spent time together.

However, the once-close friends turned into fierce rivals during the student union elections in 2010 at Sharddhanand College in Alipur, Delhi.

While they didn't contest the elections directly, they provided muscle power to rival candidates, which created bitterness between the two and ultimately led to the violent gang war in Delhi.

The war between the two gangs has claimed over 25 lives in the past decade, with the most recent incident being the murder of Jitendra Gogi at a local court in Delhi. He was shot dead by members of the Tillu gang, which heightened tensions between the two groups.

Before becoming a gangster, Gogi was a promising athlete and volleyball player who studied in a local government school in Alipur. He had dreams of representing India in international games, but was unable to fulfill them due to his involvement in the gang war.

While the two friends-turned-foes are dead, their aides are still there. The authorities need to take strict action against all those involved in the gang wars and not allow anyone to take their place.