Mistaking him to be a thief, 2 men beat up teen to death

An 18-year-old boy died after he was brutally beaten up by two men mistaking him for a thief in Jalahalli police limits on Tuesday.

According to police, the deceased has been identified as Tony Vincent, a resident of Siddharatha Nagar. He was attending a cooking class conducted by St Joseph’s College.

On Tuesday night, Vincent had gone to an under-construction building near Mathikere bus stand, where he was beaten to death. The two accused, who were arrested, have been identified as Manjunath alias Water Manja, a resident of Mathikere, and Hanumantha, a native of Kalaburagi. Manjunath owns two water tankers and Hanumantha works as a helper in the under-construction building.

They tied the victim's legs and hands with a rope and thrashed him. On realising that the boy was dead, they took the body in a car and dumped it in an isolated place near HMT Layout in Jalahalli. On Wednesday morning, a few passersby noticed the body and informed the police.

While questioning the family members and others, an autorickshaw driver told the police that he saw two men beating up a boy at the under-construction building. The police immediately identified the two persons and arrested them. They confessed to the crime and told the police that they had thrashed the boy thinking that he was a thief who had come to steal construction materials.

Recently, a floor-polishing machine had gone missing from the building.
Vincent’s family members told the police that he had dropped out of college as he was irregular. They had enrolled him for a cooking class conducted by St Joseph’s College. But it was found that he was not regular to the cooking classes, too. He used to leave home early and return by evening and no one knew where he used to go, said the police.

Rowdy hacked to death
A 25-year-old man having a criminal record was found stabbed to death on a vacant plot near Yeshwantpur railway station on Wednesday, the police said and suspected the murder to be the handiwork of a rival gang.

Ravi alias Swami, a resident of Mohan Kumar Nagar who was listed as a history-sheeter at the Yeshwantpur railway station, had left home around 8.30 pm on Tuesday after somebody called him up. He told his family members he would come back after meeting some friends. But he didn’t return and his body was noticed the next morning by passersby who promptly called the police.

Police suspect that someone known to Ravi had murdered him out of vengeance. His body bore several stab marks and it appears at least three people are involved in the murder, the police added.

Cases of murder and attempt to dacoity were registered against Ravi at the Yeshwantpur police station, and he had served in prison.