Bengaluru: The body of a two-year-old boy was found in a forest in Soladevanahalli police station limits, a day after he went missing near his house. The police have arrested his 14-year-old neighbour in this connection. The accused allegedly smothered the victim, Venkatesh, son of Basavaraju, owner of a roadside eatery, by pressing his foot against his neck. He did this to avenge the humiliation of his father Eeranna, a tea seller, by Basavaraju.
On Wednesday afternoon, around 2 pm, while Venkatesh was playing in front of his house, a pigeon belonging to Eeranna’s son flew to the nearby forest area. He called Venkatesh, who was fond of pigeons, to help him find the bird. Both went to the forest, but only Eeranna’s son returned. Later in the evening, when Venkatesh did not return home, Basavaraju and his family started searching for him. After some time, Basavaraju was informed by a neighbour that his son was lying dead in the forest. Basavaraju then approached the police and lodged a complaint accusing Eeranna of murdering his son to avenge their stand-off on February 4.
The police detained Eeranna, but they found that he was not present at the spot between 2 pm and 3 pm on Wednesday, the time when the murder was suspected to have happened. The police suspected involvement of Eeranna’s son in the murder and detained him, with the help of Child Welfare Committee members, for the questioning. During the questioning, Eeranna’s son confessed to the crime and was sent to the state-run boys’ home.
