Minor's murder: Local bodies should rein in antisocial dens, says minister M B Rajesh

Kasaragod: Minister for Local Self-Governments and Excise M B Rajesh on Monday asked local self-government bodies to ensure that their buildings and properties are not turned into dens of anti-social elements.

He was speaking to reporters in Kasaragod against the backdrop of the killing of the 5-year-old daughter of a migrant couple from Bihar, in Aluva.

Her body wrapped in a sack was found in a secluded area on the premises of Aluva market, owned by Aluva municipality. The local body is controlled by the Congress.

The girl's death was brutal and will pain any person with a heart, said Minister Rajesh.

But many are interested in turning the brutal crime into a controversy and making political gains, he said. "That is condemnable and painful," he said.

He said the police launched their investigation and search for the girl 15 minutes after they got the missing person complaint and arrested the accused in two hours. "We should think of actions that should be taken to ensure such crimes are not repeated," he said and urged local bodies to be alert so that their properties and buildings are not turned into dens of anti-social elements.

According to residents, the dump yard behind Aluva Market is used by miscreants and alcoholics for drinking after 3 pm.

The minor girl-- a resident of Choornikkara panchayat and a class I student of Thaikkattukara upper primary school -- went missing around 3.30 pm on Friday, July 28.

CCTV cameras captured her boarding a KSRTC bus with Ashfaq Aslam, another migrant worker from Assam, who started staying in a room above the girl's house that week.

Around 10.30 pm, police picked up Ashfaq Aslam from Thottakkattukara around 10.45 pm the same day.

The next day on July 29, police found the girl's body behind Aluva market, 6km from Choornikkara.

She was strangled and her body and brutal injuries. Police have charged Ashfaq Aslam with murder and sexual assault.