ERNAKULAM: Asfaq Alam, charged with the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Aluva, Kochi, has been sentenced to death. The court pronounced five life terms along with the death penalty for the accused, Asfaq Alam.
The verdict was pronounced by the Ernakulam POCSO Court. Judge K Soman, presiding over the trial, initiated the pronouncement of the verdict today, on Children’s Day (November 14) at 11 am.
The Ernakulam POCSO court found Asfaq Alam guilty on all 16 charges, including IPC sections 302 (murder), 376 2(j) (rape of a minor girl), and 364 (kidnapping with the intent to murder). The migrant laborer from Bihar also faced charges under the POCSO Act and the Juvenile Justice Act.
The case involved examination of 41 witnesses, resulting in the court finding the accused guilty on 13 charges.
The verdict was delivered on the 110th day of the crime. The verdict was delivered on the 100th day after the crime, and the trial for this case was completed in 26 days.
The tragic incident took place on July 28, 2023, in Aluva, Ernakulam district. The trial officially commenced on October 4.
According to police records, on July 28, Asfaq Alam abducted the 5-year-old daughter of a Bihar couple from their house in Aluva, Kerala and brutally raped and killed the child. At first, the police registered a missing case, and during the search, the demised body of the child was discovered tied in a sack within the premises of Aluva market.
Asfaq Alam, the accused who resided near the child’s house in Aluva, was found guilty and arrested based on CCTV footage evidence.
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