Protests erupted in Shimla, Theog and Kotkhai towns over the gruesome and barbaric way in which she was found to be gangraped and killed. (File)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday lodged two FIRs relating to the rape and murder of a class X school girl near Kotkhai and the subsequent death of an accused in a police station, five days after his arrest in the case.
The probe was entrusted to the CBI by the Himachal Pradesh High Court following massive protests and outrage against the police over ‘faulty’ investigations. The protests were further fuelled by the custodial death of an accused Suraj Singh, a Nepali national who was a lodged at Kotkhai police station along with another accused Rajendra Singh,30, alias Raju on Tuesday night.
The CBI, as per High Court orders, has set-up a SIT headed by an Additional SP Rank officer of the CBI from Delhi and two DySP rank officers, one of them a woman. “It has suitable staff to assist in the investigations,” said CBI spokesman R K Gaur.
A CBI release said the agency will investigate “FIRs No. 97 of 2017 dated July 6,2017 under Sections 302, 376 of IPC & section 4 of POCSO Act registered earlier at Police Station, Kotkhai, district Shimla relating to rape and murder of a minor girl, and another FIR No.101 of 2017 dated July 19,2017 under Section 302 of IPC registered at Police Station, Kotkhai relating to custodial death of one of the accused arrested by local Police in connection with investigation of said FIR No.97 of 2017.”
On July 4, a 16-year old school girl went missing while on her way back home on a forested path she had to track. Her parents lodged a missing complaint with the police and after a search, her body was recovered from Halaila forests on July 6.
Protests soon erupted in Shimla, Theog and Kotkhai towns over the gruesome and barbaric way in which she was found to be gangraped and killed. Under pressure and facing allegations of shielding the real culprits, who locals allege belong to rich families, the state police set up an SIT under IGP (Shimla) Zahru H Zaidi,which on July 13 claimed to have solved the mystery of the rape and murder arresting Ashish Chauhan, 29-year-old son of an orchardist from the area.
Later, Director General of Police Somesh Goyal announced that a total of six persons have been arrested but added that five of them – Rajendra Singh alias Raju, a manager of an orchardist at Halaila, Suraj Singh, Lokjan alias Chottu (19) — both of them Nepali nationals, Deepak alias Deepu and Subash Singh Bisht, both from Uttrakhand, were involved.
The protests took a violent form with the demand for a CBI probe gaining momentum. After the custodial death of Suraj, the Himachal Pradesh High Court intervened in the state government’s plea and ordered the case to be referred to the CBI ,which has been asked to give an interim report within two weeks. The CBI spokesman said the team will be in Shimla on Sunday.
Victim’s father welcomes CBI investigation
The 60-year-old father of the victim has welcomed the CBI probe. “I am sure now the culprits will surely be caught and brought to justice.”Shimla: The 60-year-old father of the victim has welcomed the CBI probe. “I am sure now the culprits will surely be caught and brought to justice.”“My daughter is not going to come back, but I want her soul to rest in peace when the culprits are hanged. This will… send a strong message to society,” he said.While appealing to the CBI to fast-track investigations, he said, “I will request them (CBI) not to spare the guilty, but also not to frame any innocent. We feel there are certain influential people behind it,” he said.
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