Ashfaq Alam had been in jail for one month in connection with the crime and later came out on bail, Aluva Rural SP Vivek Kumar told reporters.
Police said Asfaq Alam confessed to the crime. (Supplied)
The Kerala Police on Tuesday, 1 August, said the accused in the sensational rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Aluva near Kochi last week was arrested in a POCSO case in New Delhi five years ago.
Ashfaq Alam had been in jail for one month in connection with the crime and later came out on bail, Aluva Rural Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Kumar told reporters in Kochi.
“He was arrested by Ghazipur police (Uttar Pradesh) in 2018 for attempting to sexually molest a 10-year-old girl there,” the SP said.
The state police came across his criminal history while conducting his background check, the officer said.
Police sources said they were trying to find out whether Alam, a Bihar native, had been involved in any other crimes before reaching Kerala as a migrant worker.
Meanwhile, the test identification parade of the accused was held at the sub-jail in nearby Aluva.
Alam, who was arrested a day after the crime on Friday, was brought to the sub-jail on Sunday.
At least three witnesses reportedly attended the identification parade. The police, however, didn’t divulge more details.
Thajudeen, a local labourer who had seen Alam going inside the market along with the girl before committing the crime, told reporters outside that he would give his statement against the accused anywhere to ensure maximum punishment.
He also confirmed that he identified the accused during the parade. “He should get maximum punishment… I saw him that day… I will say this anywhere,” he said.
Meanwhile, police said they would proceed to seek the custody of the accused.
“We have already filed the custody application of the accused. After the test identification parade procedure, we will step into that. The rest of the things will be decided by the court,” a senior police officer said.
On Friday, the five-year-old girl was abducted, raped, and killed allegedly by a migrant worker from Bihar who lived in the same building. The child’s family hails from the same state.
Her body was found dumped in a sack in a marshy area behind a local market in the nearby Aluva on Saturday.
The girl was sexually assaulted and strangulated to death, a senior police officer earlier told South First.
She had been missing since 3 pm on Friday, and the police were informed at 7 pm. The initial FIR mentioned the incident as a case of abduction.
“Yes, the police have invoked the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act as penetrative sexual assault was involved. The murder was by strangulation,” the officer said in response to a specific question by South First.
Section 3 of the POCSO Act deals with penetrative sexual assault.
The police examined CCTV footage from the area where the child was last seen. She was seen with Alam, who was staying in a room on the first floor of the building near Garage Junction where the girl’s family lived.
Soon after his arrest, the accused could not be interrogated as he was in an inebriated state, the police said.
After the incident, the Congress came down heavily on the state police and alleged lapses on their part in tracing the child.
However, Kerala Police Chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb rejected the charges and said there were no lapses on the part of the investigators.
On Monday, the state’s Health Minister Veena George announced financial aid of ₹1 lakh to the deceased child’s family.
The announcement of financial aid by Veena George came as the Congress and the BJP alleged that the state government was not using the police to ensure law and order and the safety of the people but for other matters.
Congress MP K Muraleedharan said the police were busier trying to rectify “microphone problems”.
This was an apparent dig at the recent registration of a case over the malfunctioning of a microphone that interrupted Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s speech for a few seconds during a programme organised to commemorate the life of late Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy.
Speaking about the crime against the minor girl, Muraleedharan said, “It was a heart-wrenching incident and an insult to our state. What is the difference now between Kerala and a state like Uttar Pradesh? Is there any security here? The chief minister needs to take stringent measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.”
The Congress MP also pointed out that it was the residents of the area who found the body of the child the day after the incident and informed the police. “The child could have been saved,” he claimed.
He also said that the government needed to view the issue seriously and take steps to find out how many migrant workers were there in the state, and how many of them had criminal backgrounds.
Subsequently, on Monday itself, the Excise Department inspected houses and camps of non-native labourers, including the residence of the accused, in the area where the incident occurred.
An excise official told TV channels that the agency had identified 50 spots in Aluva where non-native workers resided, and inspections were being carried out at all those places simultaneously.
State Labour Minister V Sivankutty said in a government release that migrant workers were currently regulated according to provisions of the Inter-State Migrant Workers Act of 1979. The necessary system for the registration of migrants would be prepared by the Labour Department.
Sivankutty said that over five lakh migrant workers were registered under the Awas Health Insurance Scheme introduced for them, and that the Labour Department would take steps to identify all unregistered workers and get them on board as well.
Besides that, an Athithi (guest) app would be launched next month to register migrant workers and it will contain comprehensive information about them.
Extensive campaigns would be conducted in connection with the app, and Labour Department officials would visit workers’ camps and workplaces to register them on the app, the minister said.
(With PTI inputs)
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