KOCHI: Ernakulam Additional District Sessions Court (for the trial cases relating to atrocities and sexual violence against women and children) on Tuesday directed police to remove all information from online platforms that reveal the identity of the five-year-old girl who was raped and murdered at Aluva on July 28. The court was also critical of images and videos of accused Asafak Alam, 28, of Bihar, circulating on various platforms.
The remarks were made when additional district and sessions judge K Soman was considering the petition filed by the police seeking the custody of Alam on Tuesday morning. He told police that it is highly critical that the identity of the victim was not kept confidential as per the norms.
He said that details, including the name and image of the victim, are still being circulated through social media platforms. Following the direction, Ernakulam rural police came out with a press release stating that revealing the identity of the victim through any media, including print, visual and social media platforms, is an offence under the Pocso Act.
Hence, any information revealing the identity of the victim in the Aluva murder should be removed. The court also asked about the use of the Test Identification Parade (TIP) if the images and videos of the accused are already revealed in the media. The court also asked police to file a fresh petition seeking the custody of the accused.
Later, in the afternoon, Alam was produced before the court. This time, his face was covered. Police filed a fresh petition seeking the custody of the accused for days. Police claimed that the accused was not cooperating with the probe. According to police, they have recovered his Aadhaar card but its authenticity has to be checked. Similarly, information has to be collected about Alam’s stay in Kerala and when he first arrived here. It has to be checked whether he came to the state through some agents.
When the court asked Alam whether he had anything to say, the accused said that he was a first-time offender. He also apologised to the court and said that the mistake would not be repeated. The court decided to grant Alam’s custody to the police for 10 days till August 10. No counsel represented Alam at the court. He was later shifted to Aluva police station where the case has been registered.