Thiruvananthapuram: A 66-year-old man in Kundara in Kerala’s Kollam district, accused of raping his 10-year-old granddaughter, who was later found dead, is now being accused of murdering a 14-year-old boy.

Victor Daniel, alias Vijayan, 66 is presently in police custody over the death of his granddaughter who was found dead in her home, hanging from a window grill on January 15. Mysteriously, both legs of the girl were touching the ground and yet the local police did not take it as anything more than a suicide case.

Vijayan is the girl’s maternal grandfather.

The circle inspector and the sub-inspector who handled the case in January have both been suspended after a volley of protests against the manner in which police handled the case.

On Wednesday, a more startling allegation came against Vijayan with the mother of a 14-year-old boy who was found hanging in 2010, alleging that Vijayan and his son were behind the boy’s death. The boy’s family had been Vijayan’s neighbours and had since moved away because of alleged threats from him and his son.

Following the revelation on a local television channel, the Kollam superintendent of police, S. Surendran said he had instructed the deputy superintendent of police to investigate the matter even though a formal complaint is yet to be received from the aggrieved family.

The boy was found hanging in his home while his sister and mother were away in hospital where his father had been undergoing treatment. The boy’s family alleges that they had told the Kundara police that the boy had been murdered, and that the police had not taken it seriously.

The boy’s family said they were emboldened now, following the wide media coverage of the death of the 10-year-old girl, who is Vijayan’s granddaughter. They said Vijayan and his son had threatened them, saying that the police officials in Kundara were his friends and that they would face dire consequences if they followed up on the boy’s death.

In another incident in Kollam district, the Poovar circle inspector S.M. Riaz was suspended for negligence related to the case of a Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing three minor boys who had joined a seminary. The priest, Thomas Parekkalam had escaped after his arrest, and this was considered to be grievous failure on the part of police.

The alleged sexual abuse by the priest happened in 2016, and the matter came to light after a 14-year-old boy, who alleged abuse by the priest, along with his parents, lodged a formal complaint with the Poovar police.