A Kerala court on Tuesday gave death sentence to the accused in the horrific Aluva child rape and murder case.
Special POCSO (Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences) court judge K Soman delivered the maximum penalty to Ashwaq Alam, a migrant laborer, for the rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl from Bihar.
The sentence was handed down on a day commemorated as Children’s Day nationwide.
This date also signifies the 11th anniversary of the enactment of the POCSO Act, which came into effect on November 14, 2012.
During Alam’s sentencing, the victim’s parents were present in court. Alam had been convicted on November 4.
The prosecution contended that the case fell within the category of the rarest-of-rare, warranting the death penalty for the convict.
During the sentencing arguments, Alam claimed in court that while the other accused were released, he was singled out in the case. Apart from this, he made no other statements, as per the prosecution.
The court had found Alam guilty of all 16 offenses listed in the charge sheet.
Among the 16 offenses, the prosecution had earlier stated that five were punishable by death.
The young girl was horrifically raped and strangled to death on July 28 after being abducted from her rented house in the area.
This was also a case where the trial has been handed down within 100 days.
Her body was discovered dumped in a pile in a swampy region behind a local market in nearby Aluva. The arrest of the accused was made based on CCTV footage.
