second accused Edukondalu
Bengaluru: City police, probing the kidnap and murder of 13-year-old M Prajwal, arrested a second accused, Edukondalu (18), from his hideout in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh , Monday. Police have already arrested the prime accused – Bhaskar Reddy (26) – and seized his SUV, in which he was caught with the boy’s body in the boot. His father Tirupal Reddy, a govt contractor, had loans of Rs 3.5 crore on him, and Bhaskar claimed he wanted to lessen the debts, investigations revealed. Bhaskar had clearly mentioned that they would kidnap the boy, record a video of him, then murder him, dispose of the body and then, using a different mobile phone, send the video to Prajwal’s father, Manohar, asking for a ransom of Rs 1.5 crore, according to Edukondalu.
He was produced before a judge at the latter’s residence in National Games Village and was taken into police custody for questioning. A master’s degree holder from London, Bhaskar is a neighbour of Prajwal’s family and allegedly hatched the conspiracy to earn quick money. After Prajwal’s murder, Bhaskar’s plan failed as his SUV met with an accident. Subsequently, Bhaskar was arrested while Edukondalu had fled the city.