Ernakulam POCSO court’s verdict, imposing the maximum punishment of a death sentence, has been welcomed by the victim’s parents, stating that the verdict should serve as a lesson to offenders. This is very first death sentence in POCSO case in Kerala.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on July 28, 2023, in Aluva. Initially FIR registered by the police as a missing person’s case involving a five-year-old daughter of a Bihar couple (migrant workers in Kerala) from their Aluva residence, the search found that the child’s deceased body tied in a sack within the Aluva market premises.
CCTV footage evidence revealed that Asfaq Alam, a native of Bihar residing near the victim’s house in Aluva, abducted the child, brutally raped and killed her.
It was also found that the accused cruelly poured alcohol into the child’s mouth, rendering her unable to cry.
Presenting all the evidence to the court, the prosecution advocated for the maximum punishment of a death penalty for the accused on November 9. During the proceedings, the POCSO court noted that three of the 16 charges against the accused overlapped between the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Concluding all procedures, today, Ernakulam POCSO Court’s Judge K Soman, presiding over the trial, pronounced the maximum sentence of death along with five life terms for the accused, Asfaq Alam.