Juvenile, who 'murdered' girl used to watch crime thrillers, says police

Hyderabad, Aug 23 (PTI) The juvenile who allegedly murdered a 10-year-old girl here earlier this week was habituated to watching crime thrillers on OTT and other online platforms, police said on Saturday.

The 14-year-old, who killed the girl on August 18 by brutally stabbing her about 20 times, was apprehended, they said.

The teenager, a Class X student, sneaked into the girl's house to steal a cricket bat belonging to her brother.

The Child in Conflict with Law (CCL), a neighbour of the victim, entered her house through the terrace and took the bat. When he was leaving, the girl noticed him and shouted. Out of fear of being caught, the CCL attacked the girl with a knife, causing her death, police said.

He carried the knife to scare anyone who confronted him when he committed the theft, they said.

"He has been strongly habituated to watching crime thrillers and suspense mysteries on OTTs and other platforms since the last five-six years. He was in the habit of bunking school and playing cricket and watching OTTs," a police official told reporters.

After the murder, the CCL cleaned the knife, changed his clothes, and tried to behave as if nothing had happened.

"The investigation clearly established that the CCL committed the offence of theft and, in the process, murdered the 10-year-old girl," police said.

During the investigation, the teenager, in the initial stages, misled the investigators by telling them that he heard the girl shouting on the day of the incident. He was taken into custody on August 22.

The boy had written on a piece of paper how he intended to carry out the theft, police said. When investigators questioned him, he replied that he had written the slip about a month ago.

The girl, a class six student, was found dead on a cot in her house with stab wounds. She was alone at home when the incident occurred on August 18.

The girl's parents had told police that they were away at work. When the father returned home at 12.30 PM to pick up a lunchbox for their son, who was at school, he found his daughter dead. PTI SJR SJR KH