E-Paper
Kotkhai gangrape-murder: CBI examines Suraj’s body
Suraj was one of the six accused in the case. His death in the Kotkhai police custody had intensified the ongoing protests against the botched-up investigations in the rape and murder case.
Five days after a Nepalese national accused in the Kotkhai rape case died in police custody, a multi-member team of forensic experts from the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) re-examined his body preserved at the IGMC hospital.
Suraj was one of the six accused in the case. His death in the Kotkhai police custody had intensified the ongoing protests against the botched-up investigations in the rape and murder case.
A CBI team arrived at the hospital around 9:45 in the morning and inquired about the autopsy conducted by the hospital. Medical Superintendent Dr Ramesh Chand confirmed that the CBI team visited the hospital. The team included three members from the forensic team. “The members also met the IGMC team of experts, which had conducted the autopsy,” said Dr Chand.
Suraj’s wife Mamata, who had visited the hospital on July 21 to identify the body, has been shifted to the women’s shelter at Mashobra, 12 kms from here. Mamata has been demanding an early release of the body. The CBI sleuths who split into different teams to probe the gang rape and custodial death of the accused Nepalese national , are visiting different locations to get to the bottom of the case.
Earlier, a CBI team had visited the crime scene at Hilaila village in Kotkhai tehsil. They also questioned the locals about the antecedents of the six main accused.
It was on July 13 that the police had claimed a breakthrough and arrested six persons. They included Ashish Chauhan, alias Ashu (29), a resident of Sharaal village in Mahasu area of Kotkhai; Rajender Singh, alias Raju (32), the driver of a pick-up vehicle and a resident of Hilaila village, Subash Singh Bisht (42) of Pauri Garhwal, Suraj Singh (29) of Nepal, Lok Jan (19) of Nepal and Deepak (38) of Garhwal.
CBI took over the investigations into the Kotkhai gangrape and murder case and registered two first information reports (FIRs). The first FIR pertains to the gang rape and murder of 16-year-old schoolgirl. The FIR in this case was registered at the Kotkhai police station on July 6 under Sections 302 (murder) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code. The second FIR relates to the murder of Suraj Singh.
