Kerala: Police arrest first suspect in connection with rape and murder of Dalit law student

Kerala police on Thursday arrested the first suspect in connection with the rape and murder of a 30-year-old Dalit law student, reports said.

The woman who hailed from a poor family, was subjected to rape and brutal assault using sharp-edged weapons before being murdered in her small wayside house in Perumbavoor on April 28.

"One suspect has been taken into police custody, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said.

"Investigation team has received full information about the accused. From yesterday onwards, the accused was under police radar," he said reacting to reports that the accused, Amir Ul Islam, a migrant labourer from Assam, had been nabbed by the Special Investigation team probing the murder.

Police have received all information, he said.

According to reports, the suspect is a migrant worker and hails from Assam.

On the investigation side, police had released sketches of two suspects. The post-mortem conducted at Alapuzha Medical College Hospital had confirmed that the woman was subjected to brutal torture and rape and her body bore 38 wounds.

Last month, amid criticism over delay in arresting culprits, the Chief Investigating officer DySP Anil Kumar was removed and a new official appointed to head the probe team.

With police failing to make much headway in the case, there was widespread criticism over the alleged shoddy manner in which the probe was being conducted.