A mother and her two minor daughters on Tuesday surrendered at the Amabalawayal police station for murdering their 68-year-old landlord with an axe after he allegedly tried to sexually assault the former in Kerala’s Wayanad district, senior officials said.
The police said the girls, aged 15 and 16, were staying at the man’s house in Amabalawayal on rent for the last five years. The girls reportedly told police that in recent months they defaulted on their rent and the man used to harass them regularly. No formal complaint has been registered in the case so far, the police said.
“There is no contradiction in their statement so far. We will question them separately and take the statement of the family of the victim. Neighbours told us there used to be heated arguments between them. We will get a clear picture only after questioning them in detail,” said the officer who did not want to be identified.
A senior police officer of the district said the incident happened around 11 am when the man came to their room after his wife left the house. The girls told the police that there was a scuffle when he tried to sexually assault their mother, and they attacked him after getting hold of an axe. They said that it was an act of self-defence, and they got panic after he died, the police said.
Later, the police recovered the body from the well. The body was sent for post-mortem, and other details will be known once they get the report. Minor children will be produced in a juvenile court on Wednesday, and the mother will be produced in a local court, the police added.
