Suspected love affair ends in 15-year-old boy’s death

A 15-year-old schoolboy was allegedly beaten to death by two men in their twenties on Shankarmutt Road in Kempe Gowda Nagar on Wednesday evening.

Identifying the boy as MC Manoj, a tenth standard student, police said the motive of the attack was not confirmed, even though they suspected a love affair might have resulted in the death. The boy was the eldest of the two sons of MC Channeshwara and Pushpa, residents of RK Mutt Layout.

Manoj regularly played cricket at the Sriranga grounds near his  Women’s Peace League School. He was returning home when the two motorbike-borne youths accosted him on KG Nagar’s 5th Main.

Witnesses said the men spoke to Manoj before slapping him. The boy fell unconscious on the road, and his attackers rode away.

“Witnesses told us that the assailants came on a Suzuki Samurai motorcycle bearing a Kannada number plate. The boy had received just one blow on his face. There were minor injuries on his face,” an investigating officer said.

Manoj had died before a few local residents shifted him to Shekhar Nursing Home.

Pushpa said that her son had never engaged in arguments with anyone. “I don’t remember he had any older friends. He used to keep to himself,” she said.

Channeshwara suspected that the attack was a planned one. “Someone might have instigated others to reprimand him, and this might have resulted in the blow that killed him,” he said between sobs.

The police said they had launched a manhunt for the assailants. 
Manoj's body was later shifted to  Victoria Hospital for a post-mortem examination. After a preliminary check on the body, the doctors said the boy had not suffered any major injuries.