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State government also plans licence for agents following the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl
ERNAKULAM, KERALA: The gruesome rape and murder of the 5-year-old girl in Aluva in Ernakulam has called for legal introspection and the need for amendments in the existing laws as far as migrant labourers arriving in Kerala.
The state government has already begun mulling over a ‘mandatory police clearance’ for migrant workers arriving in the state. The state labour department has scheduled a meeting to discuss the framework of the law.
The labour department’s licence would be made mandatory for agents who bring migrant workers to Kerala. Moreover, a mobile app named ‘Adithi’ (read as a guest in Malayalam) will be launched in August for migrant workers.
The decision to legislate a new law for migrant labourers comes in the wake of rising criminal cases among the workers. As per sources from the police, between 2016 and 2022, there are 159 migrant labourers involved directly in 118 murder cases.
The shocking figures show the challenge faced by Kerala police in preventing the entry of migrant labourers with criminal backgrounds.
Meanwhile, the Kerala police revealed on Saturday the name of a five-year-old girl who was abducted, raped and murdered by a youth near Aluva on July 26th.
“Forgive us, daughter,” a tweet from the official handle of Kerala state police said on Saturday. However, the message revealed the name of the child as it went on to add that the attempt to rescue the girl and give her safely back to her parents had gone in vain.
മകളേ മാപ്പ്🌹#keralapolice pic.twitter.com/cCY3boF8hM
— Kerala Police (@TheKeralaPolice) July 29, 2023
Disclosing the identity of child victims is in violation of the Juvenile Justice Act and Section 23(2) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
At the same time, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala police will visit Bihar to conduct a detailed investigation and probe into the criminal background of the accused in the rape and murder of the five-year-old girl in Aluva three days ago.
The shocking incident has taken a political turn, with the opposition Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blaming the ruling LDF government and the police administration for failing to take stringent action against the accused in similar cases that took place earlier.
There are allegations against the police for not improving the surveillance machinery over the arrival of migrant labourers even after recurring incidents of violence against women and children were reported from the central Kerala regions, mainly in Ernakulam district.
“It is absolutely shocking that not one of the ministers representing the government attended the funeral of the 5-year-old girl that took place in Aluva,” said Congress leader Mohammed Shiyas.
“The state of law-and-order affairs in the state has collapsed, with the police being a mute spectator in such cases. We are holding a police station march tomorrow,” he added.
Ashfaq Alam, the accused in the rape and murder of the 5-year-old girl in Aluva, has been remanded for 14 days. The prosecution has demanded seven days custody of the accused and the court will consider the application on Monday.
