Coimbatore: Boys aged 15, 13 murder 13-yr-old, bury body in slush

CHENNAI: A 13-year-old boy, who went missing on Friday, was found murdered by his two friends following a quarrel in Coimbatore.

The victim, identified as B Rithish, the elder son of Bharathiraja from Irugur Colony, had gone fishing in a canal near his neighbourhood with two friends on May 15. One of the boys, aged 15, is a Class 10 student at a government school in AG Pudur, while the other studies in Class 8 at the same school.

According to police, Rithish, a Class 7 student, had stopped attending school to take care of his younger siblings. When he failed to return home later that day, his parents questioned the two boys who had accompanied him. They claimed that an unidentified man came on a two-wheeler and Rithish left with him.

Suspecting abduction, Bharathiraja lodged a complaint with the Singanallur police. A case was registered, and investigators examined CCTV footage from the surrounding areas in an effort to trace the boy.

Police said the footage did not show Rithish leaving with any stranger, prompting officers to question the two boys further. During interrogation, they allegedly confessed to the crime.

Inquiries revealed that an argument broke out between Rithish and the 15-year-old boy, who struck him with an empty liquor bottle on the head. As he collapsed, the accused picked up a stone and smashed his head, killing him on the spot. The boys then returned home as though nothing had happened and also attempted to mislead the police by fabricating a kidnapping story.

Police said the murder is believed to have stemmed from a quarrel after Rithish allegedly spoke ill of the 15-year-old boy's parents. The police then took the two boys to the scene of the crime, where Rithish's body had been concealed in the mud. The body was then sent to ESI Government Hospital for a post-mortem. The two boys were arrested, and further investigation is under way.