Delay in Kotkhai case

Himachal can heave a sigh of relief over some kind of a closure to the Gudiya case, a crime of heinous proportions that the hill-folk thought was alien to their land. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had to considerably bend its back and was clueless for a long period despite a dedicated team of crack investigators and none of the distractions that hobble state police forces. The aftermath of the rape and murder of a Class X student, Gudiya, was theatre of the bizarre at its most painful. The investigations began promisingly: a Himachal Police special investigation team (SIT), headed by an Inspector General (IG), duly solved the case and arrested six locals.  

The state elections were approaching and public sentiment sought the transfer of the case to the CBI after the ruling Congress stirred confusion and suspicion by posting wrong photographs of those arrested. Suddenly, the story went wrong. One of the accused died in police custody and the CBI arrested the entire Himachal Pradesh SIT including the IG for murder. Suddenly, all earlier police investigations were under a cloud and the accused let off. The Left and the BJP found themselves on the same side of the barricades: crucifying the state police meant proving the ineptness of the Virbhadra Singh regime. Swayed by emotions, Shimla lawyers even tried to deny advocates to the arrested policemen.

The unhealthy pressure of public sentiment and the absence of a specialised wing for investigations in the state police forces are the prime reasons why the Gudiya case tormented our soul for so long. The absence of significant scientific tools of investigations with the Himachal police meant it must have resorted to inspired guesswork and strong arm methods while constantly under public pressure of quickly resolving the case. The Gudiya case makes it even more important to quickly implement the police reforms suggested by a succession of committees. The increasingly complex demands on the police forces and mounting societal expectations of fairness and transparency mean that structural changes in state police forces cannot be delayed anymore.