In a significant development, a Kerala court delivered a death sentence to Ashwaq Alam, a migrant laborer convicted in the gruesome Aluva child rape and murder case. The Special POCSO (Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences) court, presided over by Judge K Soman, handed down the highest punishment for the rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl from Bihar. The sentencing occurred on Children’s Day, coinciding with the 11th anniversary of the POCSO Act, effective since November 14, 2012. Alam, who was convicted on November 4, received the death penalty as the prosecution argued that the case falls under the rarest-of-rare category.
Present in court during the sentencing were the victim’s parents. Alam, found guilty of all 16 offenses in the charge sheet, claimed during the sentencing arguments that he was the only one caught in the case, implying that others involved were let go. The prosecution had emphasized that five of the offenses are punishable by death. The heinous crime occurred on July 28 when the minor girl was brutally raped and strangled to death after being abducted from her rented house in Aluva. Subsequently, her body was discovered dumped in a marshy area behind a local market, leading to the arrest of the accused based on CCTV visuals.
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