A Dalit student was allegedly raped and murdered in Perumbavoor of Ernakulam district in Kerala on April 28.

The body of the law student had several deep stab wounds, and she was also believed to have been brutally kicked in the stomach as her intestines were out.

According to the police, the incident took place in broad daylight but none of the neighbours staying nearby intervened.

It has been five days since the incident took place, but the police are yet to arrest anyone, and relatives allege that no political leaders or activists have come forward to offer help.

Friends of the victim, who was staying with her mentally challenged mother in a single room house, came to know about her death two days later from a local newspaper. They feel the perpetrator could have been inside the house for a long time considering the number of wounds and the manner in which the victim was assaulted.

The assault and murder is reminiscent to the December 16, 2012 gangrape of Nirbhaya, a physiotherapy intern, who was assaulted by six men on a private bus in Delhi.

