Hundreds pay respects to child raped, strangulated to death in Kerala; demand death for accused
Kochi (PTI): After the heart-breaking incident of rape and strangulation to death of a girl near Kochi, hundreds turned up on Sunday at the school where her body was kept to pay their respects and demanded stringent punishment, especially death, 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.
On Friday, she was abducted, brutally raped and killed allegedly by a migrant worker from Bihar who lived in the same building as the child's family who too hailed from the same state.
Her body was found dumped in a sack in a marshy area behind a local market in the nearby Aluva area here on Saturday.
After the heart-breaking incident of rape and strangulation to death of a girl near Kochi, hundreds turned up on Sunday at the school where her body was kept to pay their respects and demanded stringent punishment, especially death, 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.
On Friday, she was abducted, brutally raped and killed allegedly by a migrant worker from Bihar who lived in the same building as the child's family who too hailed from the same state.
Her body was found dumped in a sack in a marshy area behind a local market in the nearby Aluva area here on Saturday.
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 victim's playmates and classmates, broke down and said that keeping the accused in jail and feeding him would not be justice.
"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.
Congress MLA Anwar Sadath said he wants the government and the police to ensure that the accused get the highest punishment of 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.
Becoming emotional while speaking to reporters, the MLA said no one even thought the child would be killed in such a manner and everyone, including him, were hopeful that she would be rescued alive.
He also said that the last rites would be performed after everyone who has turned up has paid their respects.
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.
The Kerala police had on Saturday posted an apology to the family of the victim on all its social media handles saying that their efforts to reunite the child with her parents proved unsuccessful.
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Schools in Mizoram's nine districts closed due to rain
Aizawl (PTI): All schools in nine districts of Mizoram remained closed on Tuesday due to heavy rain that has been lashing the northeastern state since the day before, an official said.
School Education Director Angela Zothanpuii said administrations of nine districts, including Aizawl, Kolasib, Lunglei and Mamit, announced school closure on Tuesday as a precautionary measure for students' safety.
However, schools in the southern districts of Hnahthial and Lawngtlai remained open following a slight improvement in weather conditions there, she said.
According to the India Meteorological Department, Serchhip recorded the highest rainfall at 70.5 mm in a 24-hour period, followed by Hnahthial 55 mm, Siaha 37.5 mm, and Aizawl 36 mm.
Khawzawl district reported 30 mm of rainfall, Mamit 25.9 mm, Kolasib 25 mm, Lawngtlai 17.5 mm, and Lunglei 2.2 mm during the same period, it said.
The weather department has forecast light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm and lightning in Mizoram on Tuesday.
