A 13-year-old girl plotted the murder of her grandfather, guided killers – all teenagers – to his house and then watched on a video call as the 67-year-old was beaten, tied up and suffocated in Kerala. The chilling murder took place on the night of August 15 when the victim was alone at home.
What followed was brutal. Under the Juvenile Justice Act, the Juvenile Justice Board must conduct a preliminary assessment before such a case can be transferred for trial as an adult. The girl’s 17-year-old friend and three other teenagers entered the man’s house through the bathroom ventilator as the accused was on a video call with them, guiding their way, according to the police. Police said they will seek to have the accused who fall in the 16 to 18 age group considered for trial as adults.
The killers tied the elderly man’s hands and legs and stuffed a cloth in his mouth. They then assaulted him by hitting his head against a wall and eventually suffocating him to death with a cloth.
A day before, the victim’s younger daughter was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Alappuzha for childbirth, and his wife had gone to be with her, officials said. Officials said the victim’s granddaughter watched the murder live on a video call.
What happened after the murder has also become a key part of the investigation. Investigation revealed that the killers had taken around 4.5 sovereigns of gold – which have now been recovered. On August 16, she returned to the neighbourhood and went twice to a nearby shop with younger children to buy packets of chips.
Neighbours said there was no visible change in the girl’s behaviour. The next morning, she told people that her grandfather was not opening the door. A local shopkeeper said the girl told him she thought her grandfather had been drinking and was asleep.
