13-year-old school boy kidnapped, murdered

A 13-year-old schoolboy was allegedly brutally murdered hours after being kidnapped while he was returning home from tuition classes in Hulimavu, on Thursday.

The police found the charred body of the boy at an isolated place in Bannerghatta and suspect that the accused strangled him to death before setting his body on fire.

The victim, identified as Nischith, had left home on Wednesday evening to attend tuition classes, but never returned.

His anxious father, an assistant professor at a private college and resident of Arakere, called the tuition centre to be informed that the boy left the tuition to go home.

The parents called relatives and friends to check on Nischith. After searching for a few hours, they found his bicycle abandoned near a park and alerted the police that their son was missing.

According to the police, the parents got a ransom call from an unknown number demanding ₹5 lakh.

While the police were searching for the boy and the kidnappers by tracking the location, and the parents were waiting with the cash to deliver it to the kidnappers, the police got information about the charred body of a boy in an isolated area off Bannerghatta Road.

The police rushed to the spot and identified the victim through the physical description before alerting the parents.

The police suspect that the kidnappers realised that the parents had complained to the police and fearing that they would be identified, allegedly decided to kill the boy.

A special team has been formed to track down the kidnappers and the police are verifying the CCTV footage from in and around the area to identify the accused.

DCP Electronics City division M. Narayan and Bengaluru District Superintendent of Police C.K. Baba visited the spot to supervise the investigation. A team has been despatched in different directions to look out for the assailants.