Man found dead in abandoned car in Bengaluru was 33-year-old painter

BENGALURU: City police have identified the man found dead inside an abandoned Ambassador car in Rajajinagar Industrial Town on Friday as R Lohit, 33, of Kanteerava Colony in Dasarahalli.
A bachelor and a painter, Lohit lived with his elder brother Nagesh and parents.
According to his father Rajanna, he was addicted to alcohol and would stay away from home whenever his family opposed this habit.
“Last Sunday, he came home in an inebriated state and there was a fight between us. Monday onwards, he stopped coming home at night. We thought he was visiting some of his friends. But locals told us that he knew about the abandoned car and its unlocked doors, and would often spend nights in it,” Rajanna told police.
The car, with the dead body, was parked at 4th Cross, Rajajinagar Industrial Town. The graffiti-wrapped yellow Ambassador was owned by one Gopi, who supplied props for films, including the car. Gopi passed away around two years ago. Police initially believed there was a connection between the dead man and the old car, but dropped the angle on realising the car owner himself was dead.
Police found Lohit’s body on Friday afternoon and also recovered alcohol tetra packs inside the vehicle. Carrying a photograph of the body, cops visited nearby liquor shops and identified Lohit.
There was nothing inside the car to indicate that the man had struggled or was subjected to some kind of force before he ended up dead.
However, the reason for death is yet to be ascertained in the autopsy.