Kochi (Kerala) : A Kerala court awarded death penalty to man convicted in the rape and murder case of a five-year-old girl in Aluva on Tuesday. A POCSO court in Ernakulam handed over the capital punishment in the horrific Aluva child rape and murder case. The convicted person was identified as Ashfaq Alam (28), a migrant worker hailing from Bihar.
The judge of Special Court, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), gave death penalty after the prosecution sought the harshest punishment considering it as the rarest of rare cases and strongly disagreed with the defence argument for giving lesser sentence on the plea that the accused was a youth having scope for reformation.
Ernakulam POCSO Court Judge K Soman pronounced the sentence. The punishment was pronounced on Children's Day. The child's parents also came to the court to hear the verdict. Today at 11 am, as soon as the court proceedings started, the sentence was pronounced in the case. On November 4, the court found the accused Ashfaq Alam guilty in the case. Special Prosecutor Adv G Mohan Raj said that he believes that he has been able to convince the court that this is a rare case.
The court found the accused guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO Act. The charge sheet was filed in 36 days and the trial was completed in 26 days. In a case without eyewitnesses, the trial involved circumstantial evidence, testimony and scientific evidence. The main charges against the accused are murder, rape, kidnapping, disrespect to a dead body and destruction of evidence.
On July 28, 2023, Ashfaq Alam, a native of Bihar, kidnapped the five-year-old daughter of Bihar natives living in Aluva, Ernakulam district. After that, he was taken to a deserted field in Aluva market, forced her to drink alcohol and brutally tortured her. After that, he strangled her to death, tied her in a sack and buried in the swamp.
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