Siddarth Sethia
The second accused in the alleged kidnapping and murder of a 13-year-old boy in Bengaluru was arrested on Monday after remaining absconding since the incident,police said.
The accused,Elukondalvada,who worked as a private school bus cleaner,was allegedly involved in the abduction and subsequent murder of Class 6 student Prajwal.
The main accused, Bhaskar Reddy, an IT professional known to the boy’s family,had been arrested earlier.
Senior officer told reporters that Prajwal was allegedly kidnapped from his neighbour’s house as part of a plan to demand a ₹1 crore ransom.
Reddy allegedly lured the boy out on the pretext of buying crackers before taking him away along with Elukondalvada.
The accused allegedly attacked Prajwal with a hollow brick after fearing that the boy could identify them.They then allegedly concealed his body in the boot of the car.
The vehicle was later involved in a series of collisions on Ballari Road.
Following the accidents,motorists alerted the police, who searched the vehicle and found the boy’s body concealed in the boot.
Police suspect that Reddy planned the kidnapping to raise money to repay his father’s debts.
Following the arrest of Elukondalvada,police recovered multiple identity cards bearing different dates of birth from his possession.
Investigators are now verifying the documents to establish his actual age and determine his precise role in the kidnapping and murder.
The murder came to light after Bhaskar Reddy,who allegedly killed 13-year-old Prajwal, placed the boy’s body in the boot of his car and drove towards Andhra Pradesh.
On Ballari Road near Chikkajala,the car reportedly hit several vehicles before coming to a halt.Local motorists stopped and confronted Bhaskar over his reckless driving.When police arrived, they became suspicious after he gave contradictory explanations.
A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of Prajwal’s body,wrapped and concealed in the boot.
Bhaskar allegedly initially told police that the boy had accidentally come in front of his car and died, and that he was taking the body away to dispose of it.
Police,however, were not convinced and began questioning him.
Meanwhile,Prajwal’s father had already reported the boy missing after learning that he had gone with Bhaskar and failed to return.This helped police establish the identity of the body and connect Bhaskar to the boy.
Further investigation is underway.
