15-Year-Old Girl Kills, Beheads 9-Year-Old Niece With Sword During Religious Ceremony

A 15-year-old girl has been accused of killing and beheading her 9-year-old niece with a sword during a religious ceremony in Dungarpur district, Rajasthan, India on Monday, Aug. 1.

The alleged teenage killer, who reportedly stays in a school hostel, had recently come back home. The gruesome incident transpired at around 3 a.m. on Aug. 1 while the statue of a deity was being installed at her family's house and worshipped as part of a worship ritual.

During the ceremony, the minor girl allegedly claimed that she was under the influence of the deity and picked up a sword. She then reportedly wielded the blade and shouted saying that she was going to kill everyone. She then allegedly started charging at her family with the sword. Her father and uncle suffered minor injuries while attempting to overpower her, the Times Of India reported.

During the attack, the underage suspect's 9-year-old niece was left behind in the commotion as her family fled the spot. The minor accused later went inside the room where her niece was sleeping, dragged her to another area, and beheaded the girl with the sword. Later, when the family members returned, they found that she had killed the young girl with the sword.

The family members then alerted the police regarding the gruesome incident. Officers responded to the scene and found the decapitated body of the girl lying outside the house.

Following this, based on a complaint lodged by the family members, the accused girl was detained. Meanwhile, a Forensic Science Laboratory team was called to collect evidence and the girl's body has been sent to the coroner's office for a postmortem examination, Indian Express reported.

According to the authorities, the accused girl had not eaten for the past several days and had been behaving bizarrely.

“Women in Dungarpur often fast for the Dasha Mata puja [ceremony], which is done to wish for the well-being of the home. The accused girl was also fasting for 3 to 4 days. It is possible that she developed some psychological condition and not eating food had a role to play in it. Even now, she is not behaving normally,” said Sagwara Circle Officer Narpat Singh.