Teenage Girl Orchestrates Chilling Murder of Grandfather in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Police have uncovered a gruesome murder plot allegedly orchestrated by a 13-year-old girl against her own grandfather, a 65-year-old, in Karuvatta, Alappuzha district.

Investigators report that the girl, along with her boyfriend and two other teenagers, showed no remorse after carrying out the killing on Sunday night. When officers searched the rented house, they were puzzled to find the victim tied up with lungis and old clothes instead of the ropes or weapons usually seen in planned robberies, raising immediate suspicion. The girl’s absence from the home only deepened their doubts.

Police say the girl had long held resentment toward her grandfather, who often scolded her for staying out late and using her phone for a long time. She shared her anger with her boyfriend, who then involved two friends from Kollam. She also told him about experiencing inappropriate touch from the elderly man, which police are investigating. Chettiyar’s daughter Sreekala, the girl’s mother, had remarried and was in the hospital for childbirth, giving the teenager what she saw as the perfect chance to act.

Police revealed that the girl had planned the crime, tipping off her friends that the victim would be alone on Sunday. She guided them via video call to the house, even telling them to enter through the bathroom ventilator. During the break-in, the victim confronted the intruders but was overpowered, gagged, and beaten until he collapsed. The boyfriend video-called the girl to show her the unconscious victim lying on the floor.

Only one room — the almirah where gold was kept — was ransacked, while the girl’s own room remained untouched, pointing investigators straight to her involvement. The accused allegedly took 4.5 sovereigns of gold from the house.

The girl's contradictory statements and call history revealed the chilling truth. Soon, police tracked the three teenagers who had switched off their phones and tried to hide in Kollam. Initially, the gang claimed they only wanted to “bash up” the grandfather and steal ornaments. But investigators say the girl’s instructions were crystal clear: kill her grandfather.

According to police, the stolen money was meant for buying an iPhone for the girl, a bike for others, and partly as a wedding gift for a friend.

On Friday, the girl reportedly called her boyfriend. Acting on her directions, the teenagers boarded a train to Haripad late Sunday night. When they found no bus at the stand, they contacted the girl, who calmly guided them via video call, instructing them to take an auto straight to the rented house.

Police said the girl's statements were full of contradictions, yet she stayed bold and confident, trying to mislead investigators. Her call history eventually revealed the network of teenagers involved.

After the murder, the gang switched off their phones and tried to hide — two at a friend’s house, another in Kollam. But police teams tracked them down.