Argument over child's assault led to double murder in Attappady: police
A 35-year-old woman and her four-year-old daughter were killed in Attappady, Palakkad, after an argument over the accused's alleged assault of the child, police said.
A dispute over the alleged assault of a four-year-old girl preceded the killing of the child and her mother in Attappady, Palakkad district, according to police. The accused, Provat Das, a native of West Bengal, has reportedly admitted to killing Pronita, 35, and her daughter Johita.
The three had been living together at Attappady for roughly a month before the killings. Pronita was the wife of a friend of the accused in West Bengal. She and Das are said to have grown close and later left for Keralam together, taking Johita along. The group first arrived in Thrissur before shifting to Attappady, where they found work on a plantation.
According to the police account, Das assaulted the child after she refused to eat. When Pronita objected, an argument broke out between the two. Das then allegedly killed both the woman and the child, and later disposed of their bodies in the Bhavani river.
The bodies were recovered four days after the murders. Das was arrested in West Bengal and brought to Attappady on Friday.