Shimla rape-murder case: CBI arrests former Shimla SP DW Negi

CBI team probing the Shimla rape-murder case on Thursday arrested D W Negi,  a former Superintendent of Police Shimla.  (Representational Image)

The CBI team probing the Shimla rape and murder case and the custodial death of an accused arrested DW Negi, the former Superintendent of Police of Shimla, on Thursday. This comes almost two months after the arrest of eight other police officers, including IGP Zahur Zaidi, on August 29.

Negi is the ninth policeman to be arrested in the case. The other eight were members of the SIT set up to probe the case when Negi was the Shimla district SP. The eight are currently lodged in a local jail.

A senior CBI official said Negi was arrested in connection with the custodial death of accused Suraj Singh. After Negi’s arrest, he was produced before the court which sent him in CBI remand for four days.

Read | Shimla rape-murder case: CBI summons former Shimla SP, gets nod for narco test of five accused  

A CBI team has been camping in the town to meet the deadline given by the Himachal Pradesh High Court to file the chargesheet in the case by November 30.

Before the SIT took up the probe, Negi was supervising the investigation as Shimla SP.

Earlier, in September 2017, the CBI had summoned Negi and Additional SP Bhajan Dass Negi to Delhi for questioning. Sources in the CBI claimed they had managed to get some telephonic conversations between the police officers, including IGP Zaidi and Negi, in connection with the case.

The CBI had seized phones which Negi had been using as Shimla SP.

A policeman posted as ‘sentri’ at Kotkhai police station, where Suraj Singh was locked along with other accused, has also reportedly provided an eye-witness account to the CBI, which now forms part of the evidence in the custodial death case.

On Wednesday, the CBI moved an application in a local court seeking permission to take voice samples of the eight arrested policemen, including IGP Zaidi, DSP Manoj Joshi and former SHO Kotkhai Rajender Singh.