Bengaluru: The probe into the case where an engineering student’s partially charred body was found disposed of near Anekal on Bengaluru's southern outskirts on Sunday is yet to establish it as a case of murder. Well-placed police sources revealed to DH that the investigators are also probing a possible case of suicide.
The partially charred body of Harshit Kotnala, 19, a native of Uttarakhand, was found near a eucalyptus grove in Telagarahalli close to the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border on Sunday. The police found a backpack with his college ID and his mobile phone near the body.
A few feet away from the body, the investigators also found empty liquor bottles and snack packets. The Anekal police registered a case of murder and began the probe.
“A murder link is yet to be established,” a senior police officer told DH. “No link was established to the empty liquor bottles found nearby. As part of the probe, an angle of suicide is also being looked at. However, it is yet to be established.”
The autopsy of the deceased revealed that he was alive as his body burnt, the officer said.
The deceased, a first year BTech student, was studying at the Alliance College of Engineering and Design in Anekal. He stayed at the college hostel located across the border in Thally in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri district.
On February 21, Kotnala had gone missing. Police said that the deceased had left the hostel on the morning of his disappearance, telling the hostel administration he was headed to college. But Kotnala never arrived at his destination.
Published 26 February 2024, 16:47 IST