Grandfather arrested on charges of rape and murder of grandaughter

A 60-year-old man was arrested on Friday for allegedly raping and subsequently killing his minor granddaughter at Chandanmura under Sonamura Police Station limits in Sepahijala district of Tripura, police said.

The accused, identified as Pran Ballav Das, was apprehended following a preliminary investigation into the death of the 15-year-old girl, a Class 10 student. 

According to local sources, the victim had been residing with her grandparents as her mother passed away and her father is employed in Chennai.

A senior police official stated that the matter came to light after the girl’s body was found hanging in her residence on Wednesday. 

“A neighbor, who had come to visit the student, discovered the body and alerted the police. Initially it was suspected to be a case of suicide but as the investigation proceeded further, several mysterious facts came to light,” the police said.  

“During sustained interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed to the crime. It is alleged that the victim had been subjected to sexual abuse by her grandfather over a period of time. Fearing that the matter would be exposed after the girl reportedly confided in a friend, the accused allegedly strangled her to death on Wednesday and attempted to stage it as a suicide,” police added. 

The body was sent to the local hospital for a post-mortem examination, the reports of which are awaited to confirm the exact cause of death and provide forensic evidence regarding the sexual assault.

Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.