Rape and murder of 5-year-old girl in Kerala triggers call to profile migrant workers 

The rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Kerala has triggered a political debate around profiling of migrants moving states for work. The girl who was raped and murdered was native to Bihar, as was the accused in the case. While condemning the state home affairs department for the rise in crime in the state, Kerala Bharatiya Janata Party president K Surendran demanded that all migrants coming to the state must be properly profiled. 

"A thorough vigil must be done to monitor activities of migrant workers and check their criminal background," Surendran said and blamed the police for its inability to curtail violence against women and children. "The state should follow the Uttar Pradesh model of law enforcement," he added.  

Congress leaders, including VD Satheeshan and Vadakkara MP K Muraleedharan, criticised Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan-led government. They also criticised the absence of a government representative at the funeral of the girl on Sunday.

System for migrant workers to be put in place soon

Meanwhile, Kerala labour minister V Sivankutty said the necessary system for registration of migrants will be put in place soon. "The labour department will set up a system to register them, " Sivankutty said, adding that there are more than five lakh migrant workers in the state.  
"Athithi, an app will be launched to collect comprehensive details of migrants," he promised.

Thousands gather for five-year-old 

Thousands of people had gathered to pay their last respects to the five-year-old child during the funeral. The Kerala Police official Facebook page posted "sorry child" for the force’s inability to prevent the gruesome crime. Eighteen hours after a five-year-old girl went missing from Aluva in Kochi at around 3 pm on July 28, her body was found behind the Aluva market on July 29. 

The Kerala Police launched a massive operation with help from social media to locate the girl after she was reported missing. She was finally found wrapped in a gunny bag which was thrown along with other waste near the market premises. 

The abduction and the police op

The five-year-old had been abducted from her Aluva home the previous evening allegedly by Ashfaq Alam, a native of Bihar. The girl's father, identified as Ramdhari Tiwari, works in Palakkad. The family from Bihar had settled in Kerala and the daughter studied at a government school in the area. The suspect, Ashfaq Alam, had come to stay near the home of the girl just two days ago, police told the media.  

After the child went missing, the parents complained to the police on Friday afternoon by 3 pm. In subsequent investigation, police found visuals of the five-year-old walking with the suspect. The cops tracked their movement to a Kerala state road transport bus stand. CCTV footage of the area was accessed and claims from witnesses from the bus stand were also followed up on.

Suspect Ashfaq Alam taken into custody

News of the five-year-old going missing were circulated widely on media and social media in the hopes of tracking her down. Police were quick to take Ashfaq Alam into custody but did not find the child with him. Upon interrogation, Alam allegedly initially misdirected the cops claiming that the girl had run away from him after he bought her juice. 

But police had found CCTV footage showing the accused beating the child. They confirmed that Ashfaq was also in an inebriated state. 

5-year-old studied in class 1, spoke Malayalam well 

The five-year-old girl, who was raped and murdered, was enrolled in a government school in Aluva and was studying in class 1. Her teachers said that she spoke Malayalam well. The girl's father, speaking to the media on Sunday, said, "My girl has become Kerala's daughter. All I want is that the guilty should be given capital punishment."

Meanwhile, accused Ashfaq Alam has been sent on remand for 14 days. Police have requested for seven-day custody which the court is yet to review.