Rage, Addiction, and a Lost Childhood: The Story of Chinmay Suryavanshi

By dark crime diaries | Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh – August 2025

On a warm July evening in Bilaspur, 13-year-old Chinmay Suryavanshi stepped out of his home with the same excitement that colored his childhood days. He carried no money, no bag just a promise to his mother that he would return before dinner.

He never came back.

For 15 days, his parents searched every lane and bus stand, whispered his name into the chaos of train stations, and clung to fading hope. His mother stopped eating. His father taped missing posters across the city, eyes scanning every passing face.

When the police finally brought news, it was not the miracle they prayed for. It was devastation beyond words: Chinmay’s body lay inside an abandoned school building, strangled to death.

The accused was not a stranger. He was Chinmay’s 19-year-old friend. The motive? A fight over a mobile phone used for gaming.

From Missing Boy to Murder Victim: The Timeline of a Tragedy

• Day 1: Chinmay fails to return home. Parents lodge a missing complaint.
• Day 2–7: Police circulate his photo. Family clings to hope of a runaway case.
• Day 10: Search widens to transport hubs; no leads.
• Day 15: Police raid an abandoned government school after a tip. The decomposed body of a boy is discovered in a locked classroom.
• Day 16: A 19-year-old youth last seen with Chinmay is arrested. During questioning, he confesses: a quarrel over gaming turned into murder.

Inside the Crime Scene

The school where Chinmay’s body was found had long been forgotten by the city. Windows broken, benches rotting, walls sprayed with graffiti it was no longer a place of learning, but a haunt for idle youth.

Investigators traced the smell of decay to a locked classroom. Behind the rusted door, they found the child’s body, partially hidden under rubble and debris.

An autopsy confirmed death by strangulation. The boy had struggled, but the hands around his neck were stronger.

The Killer Next Door

The accused lived in the same neighborhood. He and Chinmay were often seen together sharing meals, laughing, playing games.

But beneath the surface, there was tension. The older boy was addicted to mobile gaming, spending hours glued to his screen. Arguments with Chinmay about sharing the phone were frequent.

On the day of the murder, tempers flared. In a fit of rage, the 19-year-old pressed his friend’s throat until his body went limp. Then, with chilling calm, he dragged the body aside, covered it with garbage, locked the classroom, and walked away.

“He showed no regret,” a senior officer told reporters. “When asked why, he said: ‘He made me angry.’”

The Family’s Endless Wait

For Chinmay’s parents, the grief is unspeakable. His mother still keeps his favorite plate ready at mealtime, as if he might walk back in. His father, a small shopkeeper, sits silently by the shuttered stall.

Relatives remember him as a cheerful boy who loved cricket. “He wanted to be a bowler. Now we are speaking of him in the past tense. How can life be so cruel?” his cousin whispered.

Neighbors, too, struggle with disbelief. “A child killed over a game? We cannot accept it,” said one.

When Games Become Obsessions

While the case seems shocking, experts warn it highlights a larger crisis of gaming addiction and adolescent anger.

India’s Gaming Explosion

India is now the world’s biggest mobile gaming market by downloads 15 billion installs in 2024 alone. For millions of teenagers, cheap data and smartphones have turned gaming into a daily escape.

The Dark Side of Play

Excessive gaming has been linked to irritability, poor sleep, and aggression. In 2019, the World Health Organization classified “Gaming Disorder” as a mental health condition.

“Adolescents crave instant rewards. Games deliver them. But when access is blocked even briefly the frustration can erupt violently,” explains Raipur psychologist Dr. R. Sharma.

Not an Isolated Case

This is not the first gaming-linked murder in India:

• Lucknow, 2022: A 17-year-old shot his mother for stopping him from playing PUBG.
• Madhya Pradesh, 2023: A boy stabbed his father after being denied a smartphone.
• Nagpur, 2024: A teen killed his cousin after losing an online match.

Each case sounds like an exception. Together, they reveal a troubling pattern.

Neglect: The Silent Killer

The abandoned school where Chinmay died tells another story of civic neglect. Locals had long complained it was being used for drinking, gambling, and illicit activity. No action was taken.

Neglect extends into homes too. Many parents underestimate the dangers of unmonitored screen time. “We thought he was safe with friends,” Chinmay’s father said bitterly. “We did not know the game was more powerful than friendship.”

Police and Legal Action

Bilaspur Police have charged the accused under Section 302 of the IPC (Murder). Officials say the case will be fast-tracked given the public outcry.

“This is not just about one crime,” said the Superintendent of Police. “It is about how we, as a society, failed to prevent it. Parents, schools, and communities must treat digital addiction as a serious threat.”

Police also recommended fencing and patrolling of abandoned government buildings, calling them “breeding grounds for crime.”

What Experts Say

Criminologists argue that the murder reveals deeper cracks in the social fabric.

“Adolescents are impulsive. Combine that with unregulated gaming, peer pressure, and neglected environments and you create a volatile mix,” says Professor Meena Kapoor, criminologist at Delhi University.

Psychologists emphasize that warning signs anger, isolation, erratic sleep should not be ignored. “The tragedy is not only that a boy died, but that nobody saw the storm coming,” Dr. Sharma noted.

A Town in Mourning

Bilaspur fell silent as news spread. Schools held candlelight vigils. Classmates placed flowers outside the locked school gates. A teacher, unable to hold back tears, said: “He was bright, curious, always asking questions. He deserved a future.”

For the first time in years, the derelict school was sealed off by authorities. On one wall, faint chalk marks remained from children long gone. The words read simply: “Game Over.”

Conclusion: Lessons From a Child’s Death

Chinmay’s murder is not just about one quarrel over a mobile phone. It is about unwatched children, unchecked anger, and unmonitored spaces.

It teaches us that:

• Digital addiction is real and dangerous.
• Anger in adolescence, if ignored, can turn deadly.
• Neglect whether of a child or a crumbling building carries a cost.

For his parents, there will never be closure. For the rest of us, there is still time to act before another game ends in tragedy.

Sources

• Times of India: “Chhattisgarh Horror: Missing teen found murdered by friend over mobile gaming row” (Aug 2025)
• NCRB: Crime in India Report 2023–24
• WHO: International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11): Gaming Disorder (2019)
• Expert interviews with psychologists and criminologists cited above