# Kerala teen plots grandfather murder, watches on video call 2026-08-19T12:38:16+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets A 13-year-old girl in Alappuzha, Kerala, has been taken into custody for allegedly orchestrating the murder of her 67-year-old grandfather. The NDTV report says she guided her 17-year-old boyfriend and three other teenagers into the house via video call, and watched him suffocate. The Times of India reports police said the killing was carried out 'in a professional manner, similar to what is seen in films'. The Times of India reports the girl told police her grandfather had subjected her to 'bad touch', an allegation she had raised earlier, and that she wanted revenge for restrictions on her mobile phone use and friendships with boys. Police said the group's motives also included stealing 4.5 sovereigns of gold ornaments to buy an iPhone for the girl and a motorbike for her boyfriend. One ring was sold for Rs 16,000 before the rest of the gold was recovered. The murder took place on Saturday night after the girl told her grandfather she would stay at a friend's house. The boys entered through a rear ventilator, tied up and smothered the victim, and scattered chilli powder to mislead investigators. Police used mobile tower data to trace the accused within 24 hours. The accused will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both NDTV and Times of India report this crime with straight facts and police statements, showing no editorial slant. Neither outlet questions the 'bad touch' allegation or examines the family context beyond police claims. A careful reader should note that the police version is the sole source for all details, and that no independent verification of the girl's allegations or the cinematic comparison has been reported. Watch for whether the Juvenile Justice Board orders any psychological evaluation or investigates the prior abuse claims. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - ndtv.com (neutral report) Led with the video-call watching detail, no judgement or analysis - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Heavily detailed police account, included cinematic influence claim verbatim This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-19T19:36:50+00:00. Tags: Juvenile Justice Board, Kerala, video call murder Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/kerala-teen-directs-boyfriend-to-murder-grandfather-on-video-call/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/kerala-teen-directs-boyfriend-to-murder-grandfather-on-video-call/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/