Two teenage friends fought over selling a stolen mobile phone and one of them got murdered in the end.
The police arrested the 19-year-old who joined with others to murder his 17-year-old friend and throw his body on the railway track. The Byappanahalli railway police have launched a manhunt for the accused persons, who are at large.
The victim has been identified as Raviteja M, a resident of Bannahalli in rural Bengaluru, while the arrested teenager has been identified as Rakesh alias Danny, a resident of Chandapura.
Raviteja’s body was found on the track near the railway bridge on the night of January 31. His parents identified the body on February 1. The youth had serious injuries to his body and head.
While the police believed Raviteja died in a train accident and registered a case of unnatural death, his father Manjunath M P, a carpenter, alleged that his friends had killed him.
Raviteja’s autopsy report suggested that he was attacked with lethal and blunt metal objects, prompting the police to file a murder case. They zeroed-in on Danny as the prime suspect.
Raviteja was a school dropout who became friends with Danny. Manjunath claimed that Danny met him on January 30 and warned that his son would not be spared as he fought with Raviteja over the mobile phone. Manjunath told Danny that he would ask his son to apologise and the two should not nurse ill feelings.
Around 8 pm the same day, Manjunath called Raviteja to find out when he would get back home. Raviteja had said he was with Danny and would return in some time.
An investigating officer said the two teenagers stole a mobile phone and had a fight over selling it. Danny wanted to take revenge and called Raviteja for a party. He joined with his friends and attacked Raviteja with lethal weapons and a blunt metal object. “We’re investigating the case further,” the officer said.