Kerala: 5-year-old girl raped, murdered; 'sorry daughter', say police

Kerala Police issued a heartfelt apology on Sunday (July 30) following the discovery of a missing five-year-old girl’s lifeless body at a dump site in Ernakulam district.

In a tweet, the Kerala Police conveyed their remorse, expressing their sorrow with the words, “Sorry daughter.”

According to officials, the young girl was brutally sexually assaulted and strangled to death.

The perpetrator responsible for this horrifying act was identified as a man who had moved into their neighbourhood just a few days prior.

He was apprehended by the police last night, thanks to the crucial evidence obtained from CCTV footage.

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The entire community was left in shock and grief over this tragic loss, and the authorities vowed to do everything in their power to ensure justice for the innocent victim and her grieving family.

“Our efforts to bring her alive to her parents were unsuccessful. The suspect who kidnapped the child was arrested,” the tweet by Kerala police said.

The arrest of the accused was made last night, thanks to the valuable evidence captured on CCTV footage.

However, the interrogation process was delayed due to the suspect’s intoxicated state, as reported by the police.

Meanwhile, an extensive search operation persisted throughout the night, with social media inundated with information to aid in the search.

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Hundreds demand stringent punishment

Meanwhile, hundreds turned up on Sunday at the school where the girl’s body was kept to pay their respects and demanded the death penalty, for the accused.

People, cutting across all ages and from all walks of life, turned up to pay tribute to the child at the school where she was a student till Thursday.

A large crowd was also present at the public cemetery where the victim’s body was buried close to 11 AM on Sunday after performing last rites.

Many in the crowd were seen crying as the last rites were performed and the coffin was laid into the ground, according to visuals shown on TV.

The accused was arrested on Friday itself, but could not be interrogated as he was in an inebriated state, police had said.

Several women, including mothers of the victims’ playmates and classmates, who were present at the school and the cemetery broke down and said that keeping the accused in jail and feeding him would not be justice.

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“He should be killed in the same manner he killed the child. If the government cannot do it, hand him over to the public,” they said.

Another woman said that it was a “shocking and heart-wrenching” incident. “It is unbearable. I could not sleep properly after hearing about this incident. Our laws need to be made more stringent. This should not happen again,” she said.

Congress MLA Anwar Sadath said he wants the government and the police to ensure that the accused get the highest punishment of the death penalty. “As a representative of the people and as a father that is what I want. I spoke to the Kerala CM yesterday and requested him not to see it as an isolated incident and end the probe here.

“Post this incident, parents everywhere are scared. So, the government and the police need to be more vigilant to prevent recurrence of such incidents,” he said.

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Becoming emotional while speaking to reporters, the MLA said no one ever thought the child would be killed in such a manner and everyone, including him, were hopeful that she would be rescued alive.

BJP leaders slam govt

BJP’s Kerala unit president K Surendran said there should be a system in place to identify any criminal elements among the migrant workers and the alleged use of drugs by some of them.

“There is no monitoring system in place. People are asking for a policing system based on the Uttar Pradesh model. Policing in Kerala is very weak. Proper investigation is not being carried out,” he alleged.

BJP leader Sobha Surendran also demanded stringent punishment for the accused and urged people to come out on the streets demanding that the government take action to prevent such incidents from recurring.

After the incident, the opposition Congress had come down heavily on the state police and alleged lapses on their part in tracing the child.

Kerala Police chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb had rejected the charges and said there were no lapses on behalf of the investigators.

(With agency inputs)