13-year-old plots grandfather’s murder for gold, cash in Kerala

A 13-year-old girl is accused of plotting the murder of her 65-year-old grandfather in Alappuzha district, Kerala, for the purpose of stealing his gold and other valuables, according to police sources. The girl, along with a 17-year-old boyfriend and two friends aged 16 and 17, allegedly planned the heinous crime to sell the recovered gold and use the money to purchase iPhones and bikes.

The victim, Sivankutty Chettiyar, lived alone in a rented house in Karuvatta village while the accused resided in a separate house with other relatives. The murder took place on August 15, and the victim's body was discovered two days later after neighbors noticed his absence. Police detained the four individuals on Tuesday and charged them with murder for gain under the Juvenile Justice Act.

The authorities are now considering whether the minors can be tried as adults under the same Act. Neighbors alerted the police after not seeing the victim leave his house for two days. The girl confessed to the crime after being questioned multiple times, and she admitted to coordinating the plan from her home while the three boys broke into the house through a rear ventilator shaft.

The victim was smothered with cloth after a scuffle. The girl directed her boyfriend to kill her grandfather, and evidence shows he showed her the victim's body after the murder. The accused also sprayed chilli powder at the scene to mislead investigators. Police found about 4.5 sovereigns of gold recovered from the accused's houses, and the girl has no previous criminal history but has been reported missing several times.