13-Year-Old Girl Plots Grandfather’s Murder with Friends to Buy iPhone and Motorcycle in Kerala

Kocchi: A shocking case of murder has come to light from Karuvatta in Kerala. Here a 13-year-old girl along with three of her friends is accused of conspiring to murder her maternal grandfather. According to the police, the girl wanted to buy an iPhone for herself and a motorcycle for a friend. To arrange money for this, a plan was made to murder the old man. In this case, the police have filed a 740-page charge sheet before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB). Four minors have been made accused in this.

According to the charge sheet, among the accused, two boys are 17 years old, one is 16 years old and the girl is 13 years old. Police have described this case as unusual because all the accused involved in the incident are minors.

How did the three boys enter the house?

According to the police, this incident took place on the night of August 15. The three boys had allegedly entered the old man's house by removing the ceiling tiles of the bathroom and through the ventilation. It is alleged that he stuffed a cloth in the mouth of the old man and pressed a sheet on his face. After this his hands and feet were tied.

It has been claimed in the charge sheet that the accused crushed the old man with his feet and attacked him on the head and neck. Due to this he died. According to the police, no weapon was used in this incident. The accused had also taken away about four and a half sovereigns i.e. about 36 grams of gold from the house.

Why was the murder scene shown to the girl on WhatsApp call?

Investigation revealed that the boys had shown the crime scene to the girl through a WhatsApp call. Police claim that the murder was planned about two months ago. The four accused were in touch with each other through Instagram.

The investigating officers have recovered chats from the mobile phones of the accused. Police have also sought information from social media company Meta. Apart from this, six SIM cards have been found. One of these SIM cards was activated only on the day of the murder.

What evidence does the police have?

In this case, the police have collected statements of 87 witnesses, 98 documents and 12 physical evidence. Six CCTV footage are also considered important. In these, the accused are seen alighting at Haripad railway station, going towards home and leaving from there after the incident.

Will the three youths face trial as adults?

The prosecution has demanded from the Juvenile Justice Board that the three boys be allowed to be tried as adults. However, the final decision on this has to be taken by the board. The board will assess the seriousness of the crime along with the social background and mental condition of the accused. Only after this will it be decided what kind of further legal action will be taken in the matter.