Teen girl, 3 friends held for grandfather’s murder in Kerala; ‘took inspiration from films’

While police suspect the prime motive to be theft, interrogation of the accused also points towards a revenge angle.

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Police suspect the girl, an eighth-standard student, planned the murder and her three friends, including her alleged boyfriend, all residents of Paravur in Kollam district, executed the crime.

The other three accused are aged between 16 and 17. Two of them are higher secondary students and the third one is a Plus One dropout.

The murder

According to police, 65-year-old Sivankutty Chettiyar was found dead inside his house on Monday (August 17) morning. Neighbours had last seen him in the house on Saturday evening. Police suspect he was killed that night.

His wife and daughter were away at a hospital at the time for the latter’s delivery, leaving Sivankutty alone at home, police said.

The chain he was wearing, the cupboards in the bedroom were broken open and gold and cash were missing.

The girl's statements during questioning reportedly raised suspicion, following which police intensified the investigation and detained the four teenagers.

‘Murder inspired from films’

District police chief TK Vishnu Pratheep told reporters that the murder was carried out “in a professional manner, similar to what is seen in films.” Chili powder was found at the crime scene, which police suspect was borrowed from films.

Police suspect that the murder occurred during an attempt to steal gold kept at the house.

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The girl allegedly informed the other teenagers about the possibility of gold being kept there, PTI quoted police sources as saying.

According to the preliminary investigation, the three teenagers from Paravur allegedly entered the house after breaking the sheet at the rear of the building and attacked Sivankutty during the attempted theft.

The body was found with the hands and legs tied and a cloth tightened around the neck, sources said.

"Theft is suspected to be the motive for the murder. The accused wanted to find money to buy a high-end mobile phone and a bike. More details will emerge after detailed interrogation and further investigation," a police officer told PTI.

'Girl watched murder on video call'

On the night of the murder, the girl reportedly left the house after informing her grandfather that she is going to a friend’s house to study for an exam.

There were reports that the teenagers may have shown the killing to the 13-year-old girl through a video call, though this has not been confirmed by police.

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While police initially suspected it to be a case of a planned robbery, they reached a breakthrough after examining phone records. According to OnManorama, the girl initially claimed that Chettiyar was unresponsive and was not opening the door. However, later investigators suspected her role in the murder. She later confessed when confronted with evidence.

According to police, around 4.5 sovereigns of gold were stolen from the house. While police have recovered the gold, a ring was found to have been sold for Rs 16,000. A person who helped the accused sell it has been taken into custody.

What was the motive?

Police are also probing whether the murder is a revenge killing, as the girl had allegedly confided in her boyfriend that she had experienced “bad touch” from her grandfather.

Police said questioning is continuing to ascertain the exact sequence of events and the motive behind the murder.