Thiruvananthapuram: The five-year-old girl, who had been strangulated to death after being raped by a man at Aluva in Kerala's Ernakulam district on Friday, was cremated on Sunday. Chilling details of the brutal rape and murder came to light after the accused confessed to the crime on Saturday, a day after he had dumped her body in a sack.
Earlier, her mortal remains were kept for public homage in the morning at Thaikkattukara LP school where she used to study. The funeral was held at the public crematorium of Keezhmad Gramapanchayath at 10.55 am. Meanwhile, the accused Asfaq Alam will be produced before the court on the day. Police registered a case of murder and sexual assault under the POCSO Act.
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Police concluded that Asfaq executed the crime without any help from others. The girl, who belonged to a migrant family, was abducted from her rented house on Friday (July 27) at 3 pm. Asfaq Alam, a native of Bihar, kidnapped the girl by offering juice. He bought juice for her from a nearby shop, and the shop owner confirmed it later. Police examine the CCTV visuals and confirmed that the girl was last seen with Asfaq, who rode a KSRTC bus to reach Aluva.
Asfaq was taken into custody on Friday itself and he was in an inebriated condition. At the time of interrogation, Asfaq Alam gave a statement to the police that he had handed over the child to a person named Zakir. Following this, the police also detained and questioned the person who introduced Asfaq Alam to Zakir.
After 20 hours of massive search, police found the dead body of the girl child near Aluva market. Labourers and cleaning workers found the dead body inside Aluva market and informed the police. The police confirmed that the accused admitted the crime. Some wounds were found in the child's body. The forensic team collected samples from the site and examined the body thoroughly. And the postmortem report confirmed sexual molestation.
The Kerala police on Sunday apologised to the girl's family on social media for failing to reunite her with them. They also rejected the opposition's charges of lapses on behalf of the investigators. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has called for stringent action against the accused. Union V Muraleedharan called it a 'heinous crime' and said, "Kerala police have apologised on social media but that is not their duty. The Chief Minister calls the migrant workers - guest workers, but he should at least know the basic backgrounds. Doesn't the cops keep a record of the inter-state workers in Kerala?"
