Aluva child rape and murder: Kerala court says convict a paedophile, was accused in child abuse case in Delhi

A Kerala court on Tuesday noted that 28-year-old Ashfaq Alam, who was found guilty of the rape and murder of a 5-year-old child in Aluva, was accused of a similar crime in Delhi in 2018 but had absconded to Kerala as a result of which that case could not be taken to its conclusion [State of Kerala v. Asafak Alam]..The Court added that the crimes of the accused indicated his paedophilic nature. The judge concluded that he deserved the death penalty, given the manner in which he attacked the child and inflicted injuries on her body."The brutal mindset of the highest order is obvious and clear from the facts and circumstances of this case. The accused is proved to be involved in a child sexual abuse case in Delhi in the year 2018 before the victim in this case was born indicating his paedophilic nature. That case could not be disposed of as the accused herein was absconding to Kerala. The cruel tendency of the accused and his total disregard to human life is writ large from the manner of attack and the nature of injuries caused to the dead body revealed from postmortem report. This incident has created tremble feeling in the society and upset the collective conscience of the community," the Court stated..The Court concluded that case fell under the 'rarest of the rare' category and revealed an outrageous criminality, a brutal mind set and total disregard for human life on the part of the accused.“If the accused is permitted to be a part of the society it would be a threat to the girl children including those who are yet to born … I am of the view that this Court will be failing in its duty if the maximum punishment prescribed under the law is not imposed on the accused,” the Court said before awarding Alam the death penalty.While the death penalty was imposed for the offence of murder, Alam was given life imprisonment for the rape of the child..Rape, murder of 5-year-old in Aluva: Kerala court awards death sentence to accused within 4 months of incident .The alleged involvement of Alam in a child sexual abuse case in Delhi where the victim was a 10-year-old child was one among the factors cited by Additional District and Sessions Judge K Soman to impose the severe penalties."The habit of the accused did not improve even after 2018 and finally he committed more graver offence than what was allegedly committed in Delhi in 2018 … If he is permitted to be free at any point of time it is sure that he would commit much graver offence and may be a threat to the society especially the minor girl children,” the judge observed in his 197-page judgment dated November 14..The judge was told that Alam had fled from Delhi during the pendency of this case and had been absconding since by staying in Kerala.The Court also acknowledged that Alam has not yet been convicted in the Delhi case. The judge, however, also pointed out that Alam himself was responsible for the delay in deciding that case since he had absconded after being released on bail."The fact remains that he is involved in a child sexual abuse case alleging offences under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) in Delhi Court which is pending even now due to the absence of the accused,” the Court said.Further, a report filed by a Police Station House Officer in consultation with a psychologist further lent credence to the theory that “the accused is a paedophile and there is no possibility of recovery from this mental state.”.The court also considered other aggravating and mitigating factors before concluding that Alam’s actions should be handed down death penalty. The other aspects considered by the Court included the following:.1. Accused was not emotionally disturbed when he committed the act: “It is a fact that the accused abducted the victim girl aged 5 years offering sweets and giving mango juice from the nearby shop and then taken to the vacant area with his sinister motive,” the court said.2. Accused did not deserve any leniency on account of his young age: “The cruel acts of the multiple rape after administering alcohol to a five year old child, strangulating her to death and burying the dead body in garbage etc. are to be considered while he canvass for benefit of young age and I am of the view that the accused does not deserve the benefit of his age,” the judge said.3. Behaviour of accused before, during and after the crime and whether he would be threat to society: “He has committed the diabolical act of utmost sexual violence against a five year old girl … he was involved in an offence of sexual harassment and sexual assault to a 10 year old girl. He did not improve thereafter and after 28 days of judicial custody in that case he absconded and for the last 3 years he is in Kerala it is stated. … he knows Malayalam but he concealed it from the police,” the court observed.4. On whether the accused can be reformed and rehabilitated: The pending POCSO case in Delhi, lack of positive reports from Bihar (the native place of the accused) or Thrissur (where he stayed earlier) led the court to observe that there were no "positive signs" that the accused could be reformed or rehabilitated. A report prepared by the police in consultation with a psychologist also indicated that the accused was a paedophile with "no possibility of recovery from this mental state." The further court noted that the accused had committed the crime without any provocation and that he was later seen "keeping cool" as if nothing had happened. 5. No other mitigating circumstance: The court added that three other mitigating factors cited in the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bachan Singh’s case did not apply to this case. These factors were: whether "the accused believed that he was morally justified in committing the offence”; whether “the accused acted under the duress or domination of another” and whether “the condition of the accused showed that he was mentally defective, which impaired his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct.” .[Read Judgment]