Kochi: In a tragic incident in Kerala, a 5-year-old girl was abducted, brutally raped, and strangled to death. The young girl, who belonged to a migrant couple from Bihar, went missing from her home in Garage Junction. Her body was later discovered dumped in a sack in a marshy area near a local market in Aluva.
The police promptly received a complaint and registered an FIR after checking CCTV footage, which led them to the suspect, a laborer and fellow migrant from Bihar who lived in the same building as the victim’s family. The accused was arrested despite being in an intoxicated state during apprehension. He initially attempted to mislead the investigation but eventually confessed to the crime the next morning.
Local residents reported seeing the child with the accused near the market area on Friday, prompting the police to search the area and tragically find the girl’s lifeless body. The area where the body was discovered was known for being isolated, frequented by anti-social elements, and used for waste disposal.
Kerala police expressed regret to the victim’s family through their social media channels, acknowledging their inability to reunite the child with her parents.
The opposition Congress criticized the state police, accusing them of lapses in tracing the child and acting promptly after her abduction. The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, V D Satheesan, emphasized the need to address the growing concern for children’s safety, as drug and alcohol abuse is believed to have played a role in the heinous crime.
