UP couple kills granddaughter to get back at neighbour for implicating their son: Police

PTI, Sep 25, 2021, 9:49 AM IST

Aligarh: An elderly couple were arrested on Friday for allegedly killing their eight-year-old granddaughter to settle scores with their neighbour for implicating their son in a rape case, police said.

They said Lekhraj and Sampat, both in their 70s, were trying to get their neighbour, who had allegedly implicated their son in a recent case of molestation and rape, arrested.

The girl’s body was recovered on September 20 in a village in Tappal area. It is not ascertained if her uncle, the accused in the rape case, is in jail.

The senior citizens wanted to get back at the neighbour and decided to kill their own granddaughter so that they could work out a settlement with him in the previous case, the police said.

Senior police official Kalanidhi Naithani said the couple confessed to the crime when police confronted them with clinching evidence.

Police said the girl had not been attending school for several weeks and suspicion arose when her grandparents claimed that suddenly on that particular day she had gone to school.

They also planted the girl’s school bag near the site of the crime to substantiate their story, police claimed.

Police said that several persons had seen the elderly couple near the field where the victim’s body was recovered.

The legal expenses incurred on fighting the legal battle in the rape case had left the family in poverty and this led them to kill the girl, the police added.