Boy's body in car boot after crashes: kidnapping, murder probe

What started as a chaotic chain of car crashes on a Bengaluru street Thursday night quickly turned into a grim murder case after police found the body of a 13-year-old boy hidden in the suspect's vehicle trunk.

The accused, identified as Bhaskar Reddy, slammed his car into multiple vehicles near Yelahanka’s Ballari Road service road before finally hitting a wall and stopping. Witnesses immediately confronted him over his erratic driving. When officers arrived, Reddy gave conflicting accounts and could not explain the crash series.

A search of the car revealed the lifeless body of Prajwal, a local boy and Reddy’s own neighbor. Police said Reddy confessed to luring the child into his car under the pretense of buying firecrackers, then demanding ransom from the parents.

According to investigators, when Prajwal resisted and tried to flee, Reddy struck him on the head with a cement brick, killing him. He then stashed the body in the boot and planned to drive to Andhra Pradesh to dispose of it. But multiple crashes forced him to stop, leading to his arrest.

“The accused has been taken into custody. We are probing his exact motive—whether the ransom demand was primary or if there was any prior enmity. We are also checking if he had any accomplices,” a senior police officer told local media Friday.

Neighbors expressed shock, describing Reddy as a quiet man who kept to himself. Prajwal’s family had been desperately searching for him since he failed to return from an afternoon errand.

As of Friday morning, Reddy remains in police custody. The vehicle has been impounded for forensic examination. The investigation is ongoing, with authorities urging anyone with additional information to come forward.

This incident underscores the dangers of opportunistic crimes in residential areas and the critical role of alert citizens. Experts say such abductions often rely on the trust a neighbor builds over time. While kidnapping-for-ransom cases have declined in Bengaluru in recent years, this event serves as a stark reminder that vigilance remains key.

The boy's body has been sent for post-mortem, and the family has been informed. Community grief counselors have been deployed to support the neighborhood.

Updated: June 7, 2025 – The latest on the arrest and investigation as local authorities work to piece together the timeline and possible accomplices.