On 4th November (Saturday), the Special POCSO court in Kerala’s Ernakulam pronounced verdict in the Aluva rape and murder case and found accused Ashfaq Alam guilty of all charges, including abduction, murder, and rape of a five-year-old girl. The child was the daughter of migrant workers from Bihar.
The body of the minor victim was found dumped in a sack in a marshy area behind a local market in the nearby Aluva area on 29th July. It was found a day after the minor was abducted, brutally raped, and killed by Alam, who lived in the same building as the victim. The prosecution was able to prove Alam’s crime before the special court.
The prosecution has pleaded for capital punishment to the convicted individual Ashfaq Alam.
Ashfaq Alam who is a migrant laborer from Bihar is the lone accused in the heinous rape and murder of the minor girl who was the child of a couple of fellow migrant workers from Bihar. Alam had a criminal history in Bihar and he has been convicted in the current case exactly 99 days after the day of the crime.
According to the Public prosecutor G Mohan Raj, the special POCSO court has found Alam guilty on 16 charges out of which five potentially attract capital punishment. PP Mohan Raj stated that the court is likely to pronounce the quantum of punishment on 9th November when it is slated to hear ‘mitigating circumstances’ in the case.
The public prosecutor said, “Prosecution has proven 16 charges against the culprit. Out of these, capital punishment should be awarded in five charges. The prosecution has pleaded before the court to award the death penalty to Ashfaq Alam after hearing the mitigating circumstances in the case.”
According to a Supreme Court order, three reports regarding ‘mitigating factors’ should be submitted before the court for awarding the death penalty in a case. These include the mental or emotional condition of the culprit, his age, whether he can be reformed, and whether he acted under coercion
In line with the SC order, the Kerala court has called for these three reports from the state government, jail department, and probation officer. Additionally, the court has granted permission for the counsel of the victim to file a statement.
Once the court obtains these three reports on ‘mitigating factors’, a hearing will be held on 9th November.
It is likely that the court could pronounce the quantum of punishment on the 9th or 10th of November after the hearing.
The probe team was led by Aluva Rural SP and it had filed charges under 16 Sections of IPC against the accused Ashfaq Alam. The trial started on 4th October and was completed in 26 days. During the trial, charges, including murder, rape, abduction, unnatural sex, and disrespect to the dead body, were proven in the court.
