Kochi : The Ernakulam POCSO Court on Tuesday remanded Asfaq Alam - the accused in brutal rape and murder of 5-year-old girl in Aluva - and sent him into a 10-day police custody.
Meanwhile the police described Asfaq as a hardened criminal who has been charged under POCSO before. He has also served jail sentence in Delhi in 2018. Police will dig further into the background of this depraved culprit.
Backdrop: 5-year-old Chandini was daughter of a Bihari couple who lived near Aluva market. She was reported missing from her home on Friday. An intense search followed and Asfaq Alam was spotted on CCTV footage and by witness account as escorting the child away. Her bloodied body was found in a garbage heap at the market the next day.
Upon arrest, Asfaq confessed to leading the child to a secluded spot and subjecting her to brutal rape and torture that included smashing her head with stone. Asfaq was produced before Ernakulam POCSO court on Tuesday and sent into remand.
