2 Minor Girls Surrender After Killing 70-Year-Old Relative Who 'Attacked Their Mother'

Two minor girls in India have surrendered before the police after murdering a relative who they say tried to sexually assault their mother. The girls’ confession has led to the discovery of the 70-year-old man's body in a nearby pit.

The girls, aged 15 and 16, told cops that their paternal aunt's husband, identified as Muhammad Koya M, attempted to sexually assault their mother Tuesday morning in Kerala's Wayanad district. The man's wife was not at home at the time, according to the Indian Express.

The girls said they tried to stop the man from abusing their mother, but he did not pay heed. When he persisted, the girls hacked him to death with an ax, the report said. They later turned themselves in to the police, and their statements helped investigators find Muhammad's body in a nearby location.

The body had been placed in a sack and dumped in a 3-feet-deep pit, reported The Times of India. Police also recovered a dismembered portion of the man's right leg from a treatment plant about 1.8 miles away.

"As per the statements of the girls, Muhammad tried to attack their mother around 11:30 a.m. On seeing this, the girls tried to stop him. They hacked Muhammad's head with an ax. The police recovered the body after the girls surrendered in the evening," Sobin K, a police officer, was quoted as saying by the outlet.

The mother and daughters were living with Muhammad in different sections of the same house prior to the incident. Muhammad had three wives and was living with his third when he tried to sexually assault the girls' mother, the report said.

"Their living condition is bad, we can't call it a house. It's a shed. Their mother is also not well. She had a surgery recently," Hafsath Kunnakkadan, one of the village heads, said, adding that it wasn't the first time the mother and daughters had issues with Muhammad.

"Neighbors said the girls had been facing problems from Muhammad and they might have committed the crime after suffering for long," he said further.

The girls were detained after they surrendered. Their mother was also arrested and is currently facing charges in connection with the incident.