

BENGALURU: HAL police have arrested two minors in connection with the alleged murder of a 13-year-old boy whose body was found on the Vibhutipura Lake bund on the morning of October 12. The accused allegedly killed the boy over a month-old grudge after his elder brother had punched one of them over a trivial issue.
The deceased has been identified as Mohammed Arfaath, a resident of Ramesh Nagar and a Class 7 student at a government school. The accused, aged 17 and 16, are residents of Islampura. One is a Class 9 student, while the other is in Class 8.
According to police, a morning walker spotted Arfaath’s body on the Vibhutipura Lake bund on October 12 and alerted the Namma 112 emergency helpline. The HAL police registered a murder case and launched an investigation.
After identifying the deceased and analysing CCTV footage and other evidence, the police found that Arfaath had been walking alone along the lake bund on the night of October 11 when the two minors allegedly confronted him, leading to a verbal altercation. They allegedly bludgeoned his head and face with stones before fleeing the scene.
The investigation revealed that about a month earlier, Arfaath’s elder brother had allegedly punched the 17-year-old accused while the latter was dropping his sister off at tuition. The incident reportedly led to a grudge against Arfaath and his elder brother. Taking advantage of Arfaath being alone on October 11, the two minors allegedly attacked and killed him, the police said.
The police added that the two minors were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.