Kochi | A state minister and the LDF convener visited the family of the five-year-old girl who was raped and strangulated to death at Aluva near here, amid criticism from various quarters over the absence of Kerala government representatives at the victim child's funeral.
State Health Minister Veena George visited the victim's family late Sunday night following criticism from various quarters, including the general public, that no one from the government's side turned up at the funeral or when the body was kept for public display at a nearby school.
Following that, on Monday morning, LDF convener E P Jayarajan visited the family.
Speaking to reporters at Aluva near here, Jayarajan said there was no failure on the part of the police as it quickly caught the culprit after getting information that the child was missing.
He also urged that no one should politicise such a heartbreaking incident.
The victim's father too did not have any complaint against the state government and the police.
"I have no complaints against the state government and police. People are saying there are more (people) involved in the incident. I want all of them to be caught as soon as possible," he said.
He also demanded death penalty for the accused Asfaq Alam.
Meanwhile, the Excise department inspected houses and migrant labour camps, including the residence of the accused, in the area where the incident occurred.
An Excise official told TV channels that the agency has identified 50 spots in Aluva where migrant workers reside and inspections were being carried out at all those places simultaneously.
He said that this was a continuous process and was being carried out in various parts of Ernakulam district of the state for some time.
The Congress-led opposition UDF and the BJP have been attacking the Left government for the alleged lack of proper policing in the state following the incident.
Amidst the brickbats being hurled at it by the Congress and BJP, the Left government announced on Sunday that it was considering bringing a law to make registration of migrant workers mandatory.
On Friday, July 28, the five-year-old girl was abducted, brutally raped and killed allegedly by a migrant worker from Bihar who lived in the same building as the victim.
The child's family too hails 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.
He was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days on Sunday and the police said they will be seeking his custody for seven days when the matter would be heard by a special POCSO court on Monday.
After the incident, the 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.
This was criticised by Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan who on Sunday had said that the police were not being paid to apologise on social media.
