Shamseer said the state government was also aware of the victim's family's wish to ensure the maximum possible punishment for the accused.
Published Aug 06, 2023 | 7:02 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 06, 2023 | 7:04 PM
Police said Asfaq Alam confessed to the crime. (Supplied)
Kerala Assembly Speaker AN Shamseer on Sunday, 6 August, said the state government would probe the rape-cum-murder of a five-year-old girl near Aluva and prosecute the accused in a manner that would ensure the culprit does not come out of jail.
Shamseer said the state government was also aware of the victim’s family’s wish for ensuring the maximum possible punishment for the accused — Ashfaq Alam.
The Speaker’s statements came while speaking to reporters after visiting the victim’s family.
Meanwhile, the accused was taken to the area by the police during the day for gathering evidence.
The accused was taken to all the places where he had been with the child on the day he had allegedly raped and killed her.
He was also taken to his room, in the same building where the victim lived with her family, as part of the process.
Besides the investigating team of police officers, a contingent of personnel from the quick response team and commandos also accompanied the accused to ensure crowd control.
The child was raped and murdered on 28 July allegedly by the accused who is a migrant worker from Bihar. The child’s family hails from the same state.
Alam was arrested the same day, but the girl’s body was found dumped in a sack in a marshy area behind a local market in Aluva the following day.
He was sent to police custody for 10 days on 1 August.
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 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.
According to the police, Alam was arrested in a POCSO case in Delhi five years ago and was jailed for a month before being released on bail.
He was arrested by Ghazipur police (east Delhi) in 2018 for attempting to sexually molest a 10-year-old girl there.
The Kerala government, earlier this week, decided to provide ₹10 lakh financial assistance to the family of the five-year-old girl, who was raped and murdered in the Aluva area of Ernakulam district last week.
The decision was taken in a state cabinet meeting.
Earlier, the Women and Child Development department had sanctioned financial assistance of ₹1 lakh to the family.
(With PTI inputs)
