Aligarh murder: Main accused was booked for raping own kid

Lucknow University students participate in candle-march against killing of a girl in Aligarh. Pic/PTI

Aligarh: One of the two men arrested for the murder of a toddler whose body was found in a garbage dump in Aligarh was charged twice earlier for sexually assaulting children, police said on Saturday.

Aslam was charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) in 2014 and 2017, police said. He has also faced charges under Uttar Pradesh's Goonda Act. The second POCSO case, in Delhi's Gokulpuri, also involved the abduction of the minor.

Aslam, 43, and Zahid, 27, were arrested on Tuesday after the two-and-a-half-year-old girl's decomposed body was found in a garbage dump around 200 metres from her home in Tappal township. The body was discovered on June 2, three days after she was reported missing.

The girl's father alleged she was killed because he failed to repay R10,000 taken as loan from the accused. Aligarh SSP Akash Kulhari confirmed one of the two accused had a criminal history. Two separate cases of POCSO are pending against him and he had gone to jail in connection with an abduction case in Delhi, the SSP said.

Kulhari said officials probing the Aligarh case are looking at the phone records of all suspects. "The police are in the process of building a water-tight case against the accused so that it stands all legal scrutiny and speedy justice is delivered through a fast-track court. We are checking phone records of all suspects to trace the crime trail," he said.

Lawyers refuse to fight case

The lawyers' association in the city has made it clear that no advocate will appear in court for the accused. Anoop Kaushik, General Secretary, Aligarh Bar Association, said, "We stand with the family of a 2.5-year-old girl who was murdered in Tappal and no advocate will appear in court for the accused. An advocate from outside will not be allowed to fight the case. We will fight for the child."

Bollywood demands justice

The incident has triggered massive outrage. Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan, Javed Akhtar and Sunny Leone are among those who expressed their anguish on Twitter. Akshay said he is feeling "horrified, upset and angry" and demanded strict action in the case. "This is definitely not the kind of world we want for our children. We need immediate and strictest punishment for such a heinous crime," he wrote on Twitter.

His wife, actor-author Twinkle Khanna, also expressed outrage over the incident and appealed to Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani to ensure that justice is done. "It is heartbreaking to hear about the horrific murder of the two and a half year old little girl In Aligarh. I would request @smritiirani to ensure that swift action is taken against the perpetrators of this heinous crime," she tweeted.

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