KOCHI: The Ernakulam additional district sessions court (atrocities against women and children) on Tuesday sentenced Bihar native Ashafaq Alam (28), the lone accused in the abduction, rape, and murder of a five-year-old girl in Aluva, to capital punishment.
Accepting the prosecution's argument that the case was among the rarest of the rare, Judge K Soman, who presided over the trial, upheld the 13 charges levelled by the prosecution including murder, kidnapping, torture, indignity to a human corpse, destroying evidence, and three POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) charges. Soman directed that the convict be hanged to death, public prosecutor (PP) G Mohanraj said.
The prosecutor told the media outside the court that the convict was given five life terms for the various offences of rape and aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the POCSO Act. The court also imposed a fine of over Rs six lakh on the convict, he said.
The death sentence was pronounced for the offence of murder under IPC 302. Apart from the death sentence, the court also awarded life imprisonment specifically mentioning 'till reminder of his natural life' under IPC sections 376 (2) (j), 377, and POCSO Act sections 5(l) and 5 (m).
110 days after the crime, on Children's Day, the final verdict of the case was pronounced, which by itself is an achievement as far as the Kerala police are concerned, said ADGP M R Ajithkumar. The day also marks the 11th anniversary of the POCSO Act, which came into effect on November 14, 2012.
The victim's parents were present in court when the punishment was given to Alam, who was convicted on November 4.
It was on July 28, Alam abducted the child living at Choornikara in Ernakulam and took her to a garbage-littered place behind Aluva market, where she was raped and murdered. Even though the police managed to arrest the accused on the same day based on CCTV visuals, he initially tried to mislead them. The body of the victim was recovered on July 29 after the accused confessed to the crime.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the punishment given in the case on Children's Day should be seen as a strong warning to those who commit violence against children.
The chief minister said that the child fell victim to the most heinous crime and therefore, the entire criminal justice system worked efficiently to catch the culprit and ensure the maximum punishment for him.
Vijayan said that while nothing can replace the loss suffered by the parents, the government has assured all kinds of help to them.
(With additional inputs from PTI)