Kerala
Ashfaq Alam
The Ernakulam POCSO court today (14 November) awarded the death sentence to Ashfaq Alam, who was convicted for the rape and murder of a five-year-girl child in Aluva, in July 2023.
According to a report by Onmanorama, K Soman, the Special Judge who tried the case, agreed with the prosecution, which stated this case was amongst the rarest of the rare and said Alam could not be shown any leniency.
He was also sentenced to life imprisonment for rape, three years for drugging the child, five years for destroying evidence and ordered to pay a fine of Rs 7,70,000, stated the report.
After abducting the child on 28 July, Alam raped her and subsequently tortured her to death. Her body was found in a sack at a market in Aluva on the next day.
There was widespread outrage after the crime came to light. A police team of around 30 personnel completed the investigation within a month.