A 13-year-old girl hired three teenage boys & planned the murder of her 67-year-old grandfather in Kerala’s Alappuzha district to steal gold and money.
The girl wanted to buy an iPhone for the girl and a motorbike for her boyfriend.

The girl’s boyfriend and two of his friends, all minors from Kollam, allegedly carried out the murder at her instigation, district police chief T K Vishnu Pratheep told media.

He said the killing was carried out “in a professional manner, similar to what is seen in films.”

The girl had allegedly told her boyfriend that her grandfather had subjected her to “bad touch”, an allegation she had raised earlier, and that he needed to be killed.

The victim lived with his wife, daughter and granddaughter at Haripad block panchayat in Alappuzha. On Thursday, his daughter, who was expecting a child, went to hospital accompanied by her mother.

The murder took place on Saturday night after the girl allegedly told her grandfather that she needed to stay at a friend’s house to study for an exam and left.

Two of the boys, wearing gloves, entered the house through a rear ventilator opening and opened the front door to let the third accomplice in.They allegedly tied up the victim, beat him and smothered him on the dining room floor. Police said the girl watched the killing over a video call as it happened.

Before leaving, the accused allegedly took the gold ornaments and scattered chilli powder around the house to make investigators suspect a theft-only motive.

Police initially suspected close relatives and outsiders. However, contradictions in the girl’s statements, including a claimed alibi that did not hold up during questioning, led investigators to suspect her boyfriend and his friends.

Phone records and other evidence helped police unravel her version within hours.