JOIN USA flower vendor murdered a six-year-old boy by dumping him into a sump at an under-construction building at Bilekahalli on Bannerghatta Road on Friday.
The suspect Mahesh (21) is a resident of Bilekahalli. He dumped Manoj (6), a resident of Mariyanapalya in Hebbal, into the water-filled sump to settle scores with the boy’s mother over a petty issue, said the police. Manoj, son of James and Anitha Mary, was studying in class 1 in a local school.
According to the police, Mahesh would regulary sell flowers to Anitha. As usual, he reached her house around 5.30 am on Saturday and repeatedly knocked on the door. She woke up due to the frequent knocking of the door and got angry. She yelled at Mahesh and abused him for disturbing her family in the wee hours. An enraged Mahesh shouted back at Anitha and vowed to take vengeance for abusing him.
“Mahesh came back to her house around 8.30 am and spotted Manoj playing in front of the house. He took the boy with him on the pretext of buying him ice cream. He took Manoj to an under-construction building and dumped him in the sump,” said a police officer. Mahesh waited till Manoj died and then left the place. About an hour later, Manoj’s parents started searching for him, but in vain. One of the neighbours told the parents that he had seen the boy going with Mahesh. “The parents met Mahesh and enquired about the boy, but he feigned innocence,” added the officer.
Some local residents informed the police as they grew suspicious as Mahesh’s body language was not normal and he looked tense. “We detained him and thoroughly interrogated him. He confessed to the crime,” said the officer. Mahesh claimed that he decided to kill Manoj to settle scores with his mother for abusing him.
The police produced Mahesh before the magistrate who remanded him in judicial custody.