ERNAKULKAM: Sentencing arguments for the accused, Asfaq Alam, who was charged with the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Aluva, Kochi, are currently underway at the Ernakulam POCSO court. The prosecution is advocating for the imposition of the death penalty, citing various items of evidence.
Last week, the Ernakulam POCSO court found Asfaq Alam guilty on all 16 charges, which include abduction, rape, murder, and the destruction of evidence.
The prosecution has informed the court that the accused has no mental health issues and should be given the maximum punishment. Yesterday, the jail authorities submitted a sealed report on the mental status examination of the accused to the court.
The POCSO court has noted that three of the 16 charges against the accused overlap between the POCSO act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
In their plea for the maximum punishment, the prosecution argued that this case should be considered rarest of rare due to its premeditated nature. Consequently, prosecution assert that the accuser’s age should not be a mitigating factor against awarding the death penalty. The prosecution also presented the accuser’s previous criminal background.
The prosecution provided evidence that in 2018, Asfaq Alam was arrested by Ghazipur police in Uttar Pradesh and jailed 1 month for attempting to sexually molest a 10-year-old girl. Afterward, the accused was released on bail, solidifying his status as a habitual offender.
The prosecution emphasized that, in this case, the child was unable to cry due to pouring alcohol into her mouth. Prosecution advocated that this brutal act underscores the accuser’s antisocial nature.
The prosecution remains firm in its stance that this case possesses all the factors to be considered one of the rarest of rare cases, justifying the imposition of the death penalty.
Highlighting that sentencing the accused to repent would send the wrong message to society, the prosecution also drew a parallel with the case of the father who shot and killed the man responsible for the rape and murder of his daughter.
The prosecution argued that the death penalty should be imposed on the accused in order to address the situation where parents are too fearful to allow their children to play freely.
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