Alam had abducted the girl, also from Bihar, from her rented residence in Choornikkara on Friday.
KOCHI: The Bihar native who allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered a five-year-old girl in Kochi has been sent to judicial custody by the Aluva Judicial First Class Magistrate. The police have sought seven-day of custody of migrant worker Asafak Alam, 28, for further inquiry. A special Pocso court will consider the police’s petition on Monday.
Alam had abducted the girl, also from Bihar, from her rented residence in Choornikkara on Friday. Her body was found 21 hours later from a marshy land behind the Aluva fish market on Saturday. She was allegedly raped and murdered by Alam who lived on the same block as the girl’s family.
The police have slapped nine charges against Alam, including rape, murder, abduction and destruction of evidence. He has also been booked under relevant Sections of the Pocso Act. The police will begin his detailed interrogation and launch a probe to ascertain whether anyone else helped him.
Ernakulam Range DIG A Sreenivas said an investigation will be initiated to check whether more persons were involved. “We are talking to more witnesses who saw Alam with the girl. We will take him into custody and interrogate him in detail. If required, we will carry out a probe in Bihar too,” Sreenivas said, adding that it was confirmed that Alam was a native of the northern state. He said as per the information available, the 28-year-old was not involved in any other criminal case in the state.
Meanwhile, irate public prevented the police from completing evidence collection with Alam at the crime scene on Saturday. The process will resume after Alam is taken into custody. In the preliminary inquiry, he confessed to committing the crime alone.
Earlier, the police had taken three others, who had arranged the accommodation for Alam, into custody and released after questioning. Alam, who arrived in Kerala two to three years ago had started staying at Choornikkara only three days ago, said the police. The accused is lodged in Aluva sub-jail.