Bangalore : When his 12-year-old son did not return home after going out to play in a nearby park on November 7, Meyyazhagan and his wife Dhakshayani, after a frantic search in the neighbourhood, approached the HAL police. The couple filed a missing complaint the next day and everyday thereafter, one or the other parent visited the police station, hoping to learn of news of their missing son.

After 10 days in suspense, Meyyazhagan received a chilling call on his mobile phone at around 8 am on Saturday. He was informed by an unidentified caller that the body of a boy resembling his son, Naveen M, was lying in an open area near the HAL quarters. This vast area is overgrown with thorny bushes and weeds.

Disturbed over the call, Meyyazhagan immediately alerted the police and together with a few policemen rushed to the vacant plot. It took a while for the group to locate the body, but when they did, they were horrified at the sight. The head had been brutally smashed with a stone and was beyond identification. However, based on the clothing and other identification marks, Meyyazhagan recognized it as being the body of his son.

Naveen, a Std VI student at Kairalee Nilayam School, had burnt his hands while bursting firecrackers during Deepavali, and had stayed home on November 7. At around 3 pm that day, he told his mother that he was going to the park to play. When he did not return home even after 6.30 pm, Dhakshayani became worried and called her husband. The parents launched a search, but drew a blank. Finally, they went to the HAL police station with the boy’s photograph.

His mother Dhakshayani suspects anti-social elements, who frequent the open area where they play cards and indulge in nefarious activities, to be behind the murder.

“My son had seen a few men from the neighbourhood of Islampura and Reddy Palya stealing iron rods and other items from a house under construction in our area on the day he went missing,” Dhakshayani told Bangalore Mirror. “I suspect they murdered my son.” She was unhappy too with the way the jurisdictional police had handled their missing complaint. “Had the police been serious and conducted a proper investigation, this incident could have been averted,” Dhakshayani alleged. “Police treated this case in a routine manner. We visited the police station every day, asking if they had made any progress. It was of no use.” The call which Meyyazhagan received on Saturday came from a coin booth located in the neighbouring Lal Bahadur Shastrinagar area, Naveen’s mother said.

Residents say anti-socials from Islampura and Reddy Palya are a nuisance and create havoc in the many open areas in the neighbourhood. These vacant areas belong to HAL and other public sector companies. Police are probing the case.