Mother's friend arrested for sexually assaulting, murdering 15-year-old girl in Kovai

The accused, Muthukumar (44), who is a close friend to the girl’s mother, had murdered the girl and stole away jewels from her house too. He then cooked up a story that the girl eloped with jewels and cash. Police said the accused had sexually assaulted the girl before committing the murder on 11 December.

The murder came to light only on Thursday when residents found the decomposed body of the girl wrapped in woollen blanket and stuffed in a gunny bag in a garbage dump at Yamuna Nagar, barely 500 metres from her house.

Police picked up the accused as the victim had made the last call to him. Inquiries by police revealed that Muthukumar was the caretaker of the woman’s family over the last three years.

Police said the accused had taken 2.5 sovereigns of gold jewel from the teen’s mother two months ago and sold it out for his personal needs. As he failed to return the jewel back, arguments broke out between him and the girl’s mother. On 10 December, Muthukumar visited the house of the woman, while she had gone out of town, and persuaded the girl to lie to her mother over the phone that he had returned the jewels.

The next day, Muthukumar invited the girl to his house by pretending to give back the jewels. When the minor visited his house, the accused sexually assaulted her by force even when she resisted his advances. He then murdered the girl by strangulating her and dumped the body in the garbage mound after tying up her hands and legs.

The accused then visited the house of the girl and stole away some jewels and Rs 3,000. He then informed the woman that the girl had eloped with someone after looting jewels and cash from the house. Police said that the accused acted ignorantly as accompanied the victim’s family while searching for the missing girl and during police investigations.

The Coimbatore All Women’s Police Station (AWPS) have registered cases under IPC Section 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence or giving false information), 380 (theft) and under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act against the accused and further inquiries are on.