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Dissatisfied with CBI, Kotkhai rape victim’s parents move Himachal high court for fresh probe
The CBI probe had led to the arrest of only a woodcutter, while the forensic report pointed towards gangrape and murder
Dissatisfied with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the rape and murder of a teenaged schoolgirl in Kotkhai on July 4, 2017, her parents have moved the Himachal Pradesh high court, seeking the reopening of the case and a fresh investigation.
The then Congress government led by Virbhadra Singh had drawn flak over the handling of the case that triggered protests across the state. An infuriated mob had resorted to road blockades and torched a police station in Kotkhai after the body of the victim, a student of Government Senior Secondary School, Mahasu, was found in the woods of Bankufar near Hilaila village two days after she went missing.
The victim’s family has now appealed to the court to reopen the investigation. The father expressed dissatisfaction with the CBI, which had been handed over the case a few days after the crime.
The CBI probe had led to the arrest of only a woodcutter, while the forensic report pointed towards gangrape and murder.
MANY LOOPHOLES, ALLEGES FATHER
“I was never satisfied with the CBI probe. There are many loopholes,” the father said outside the court. “I don’t believe the crime was committed by one person. The forensic report from Gandhinagar corroborates this. But the CBI held only one person guilty of the crime,” he said.
The girl’s mother said she hoped to get justice from the high court. “It’s been three years since my daughter was brutalised. I can only hope for justice and pray in silence,” she said.
The parents of the victim said that they had even approached the Supreme Court but were asked to file the appeal in the high court.
“Many facts have been overlooked. We have prayed that a high court judge looks into the investigation,” their counsel Deven Bhatt said.
The 40-member CBI team has recorded statements of 400 people in the case so far.
Shimla-based NGO Madad Sewa Trust wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), seeking a reinvestigation. The trust has been protesting for justice since the case came to light. “We have written twice to the PMO, but nothing has moved,” said Tanuja Thapta, who heads the trust.
POLICE ACTION BECOMES MATTER OF PROBE
The initial police investigation into the case itself became a matter for probe after the CBI found that the special investigation team (SIT) had used torture to extract confessions. After the SIT, headed by inspector general of police ZH Zaidi, arrested six persons on the basis of suspicion, one of them, Suraj Singh, died in police custody. The department claimed it was the result of a scuffle with another suspect in the lock-up. When the CBI took over the case, Zaidi and the then Shimla superintendent of police, DW Negi, were arrested.
Members of the SIT were charged with murder, wrongful confinement to extort a confession and destruction of evidence.
THE CASE SO FAR
2017
July 4: Kotkhai school girl goes missing.
July 6: Her body is found in a forest.
July 7: Protests in Shimla and Kotkhai over rape and murder.
July 9: Police constitute SIT under IG (south), ZH Zaidi.
July 13: Police claim breakthrough, arrest six people.
July 14-15: Mob vandalises police station in Theog; massive protest in Shimla.
July 19: A suspect, Suraj Singh, dies in police custody; mob sets Kotkhai police station on fire.
July 22: CBI takes over investigation.
August 17: CBI gets two weeks, police made party in case.
September 16: CBI arrests then Shimla SP DW Negi in custodial death case.
2018
February 13: CBI files supplementary chargesheet against Negi.
March 28: High court summons CBI director.
April 14: CBI arrests key suspect in rape and murder case.
2019
April 5: ZH Zaidi granted bail.
April 19: Former Shimla SP DW Negi granted bail.
May 17: Supreme Court moves trial of the case to Chandigarh from Shimla.
