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Bengaluru boy found dead with gunshot wound, police suspect suicide
A Class 12 student in a private college in Bengaluru, the boy was found dead at an empty bus station in Sanjay Nagar with a bullet wound to his right temple.
A 17-year-old student was found dead near a bus stop in Bengaluru with a gunshot wound in the early hours of Friday. Police said the boy allegedly shot himself with a pistol.
A Class 12 student in a private college in the city, the boy was found dead at an empty bus station in Sanjay Nagar with a bullet wound to his right temple. Police recovered a pistol and the bullet that killed him. The motive behind the extreme step is still unknown.
According to police, the victim was the younger son of a former army personnel from Uttarakhand. His father had retired from the parachute regiment in 2017 and was working in a security division of a private firm in the city. The family was living in a rented house in the city since his father’s retirement.
In their preliminary investigation, police have not found any foul play. Deputy commissioner of police (central) MN Anuchet said the evidence collected from the scene indicated suicide.
Senior police officers said the suicide could have taken place between 3.30 am and 6.30 am. “He has left the house around 3.30 am. He has walked around 1 km and sat at a bus station, next to the training command of the Indian Air Force. A passerby informed the police around 6.30 am after spotting the body. We found a bullet entry on the right temple, which exited from the other end,” said DCP Anuchet.
The Indian Ordnance Factory-manufactured pistol recovered from the crime scene was registered in his father’s name. The DCP said before leaving the house the boy had taken the pistol with him. His parents told the investigators that his father had trained him to use the pistol and he had practiced with it as well. “His father had purchased the weapon with a license on his retirement. The weapon was kept in an almirah in the house, which was accessible to all family members,” the officer added.
As part of the investigation, police have collected CCTV footage from the road leading to the bus station. The footage shows that the student was texting on his mobile phone constantly, as he was walking towards the bus stop. “We still don’t know the motive behind the suicide. There was no death note. Even though he was messaging on the phone, all the texts were found deleted. We are looking for call details as part of the probe,” said DCP Anuchet.
According to the parents’ statement, the boy was a bright student and didn’t tell them if he was facing any problems. They also told police said that the boy used to read till late at night and had a habit of going for a morning walk. So, the family didn’t suspect anything when they didn’t find him at home in the morning.
The parents and an elder sister of the student came to the bus stop after police informed them about the incident. The father told the police that he didn’t get any hint that his son would take such a drastic step.
