Pune: A 17-year-old youth was bludgeoned to death by two minors following a heated argument over his messenger app status, which featured photographs of youths who had assaulted one of the accused. The police identified the deceased as Neel Naik of Kothrud. The Kothrud police on Wednesday detained the two minors on the charge of murder.An officer from Kothrud police said Neel and the two accused were known to each other. One of the accused had earlier been assaulted by a group of youths, who are currently in jail. “Neel had allegedly been putting photographs of the youths on his messenger app status, leading to a dispute between him and the accused,” the officer said. He said that on Tuesday, Neel and the two minors went on a motorcycle to a temple near Bhor. They returned in the early hours and later went to a hill with Neel. “The duo bludgeoned Neel to death with a hammer and fled,” he said.The incident came to light in the morning when some people who had gone to the hill noticed a youth’s body lying in a pool of blood and alerted the Kothrud police. “Neel’s mobile phone was found in his pocket, which helped the police establish his identity. During questioning, the two minors admitted to killing Neel,” the officer said.
