Kerala: 5-year-old girl raped, strangled in Kochi; accused arrested
What's the story
In a horrifying incident, a five-year-old girl in Kochi, Kerala, was brutally raped and strangled to death by a migrant worker on Friday, PTI reported. Her body was reportedly found dumped in a gunny sack near a market in Kochi's Aluva on Saturday, after which an autopsy was conducted. The Kerala Police said an FIR was registered and the accused had been arrested.
Details
Deceased girl dumped in gunny sack: Kerala Police
According to reports, the deceased girl was the daughter of a migrant couple from Bihar. She went missing on Friday from her residence at Aluva's Garage intersection. Later on Saturday, the police found her body in a gunny sack in a marshy area near a local market. She was brutally assaulted, sexually abused, and later strangled by a laborer before being dumped, they claimed.
Official
CCTV footage helped locate child
According to the police, they received the complaint about the missing girl at around 7:00pm on Friday and registered the FIR immediately. "Our team checked the CCTV camera footage and found that the child was with the laborer. We apprehended him at 9:30pm itself. However, he was in an inebriated state...the child was not with him," Ernakulam Rural SP Vivek Kumar told PTI.
Claims
Police say accused arrested, confessed to crime
Later, the police located the child's body with the help of some locals, who had seen the child with the accused laborer. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Kochi Range, Srinivas A, said the police initially found it difficult to interrogate the accused since he was inebriated. On Saturday, he reportedly confessed to the crime. However, he attempted to mislead the investigation team, too.
Twitter Post
'Sorry daughter': Kerala Police's apology after incident
മകളേ മാപ്പ്🌹#keralapolice pic.twitter.com/cCY3boF8hM
— Kerala Police (@TheKeralaPolice) July 29, 2023
Reaction
Congress slams police for 'criminal negligence'
Meanwhile, senior Congress party leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan, alleged "criminal negligence" by the state police for the rape and murder of the five-year-old girl. "The police did not conduct any serious inquiry even after they could identify the abductor from CCTV visuals. The police did not show the due vigilance they should have," he said.
History
Similar rape-murder incident in Bihar
The incident comes just days after a brutal rape and murder incident came to the fore in Begusarai, Bihar. A 10-year-old girl was raped and killed by her neighbor named, Guddu Singh. The girl had reportedly gone to collect henna leaves on Monday morning when the incident took place. After raping and murdering her, Singh reportedly buried her in the basement of his residence.