CBI offers Rs10-lakh reward for info in Kotkhai rape case

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 15

With no major breakthrough in the Kotkhai minor rape and murder case, the CBI today announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for providing information about the case.

The agency has announced to give a reward of Rs10 lakh to anyone providing credible information related to the case.

The 16-year-old victim was returning home from school on July 4 at 4.30 pm when she was brutally raped and murdered.

Her body was found in the forest of Haliala in Kotkhai two days later. The gory incident sparked protests which intensified after the postmortem report confirmed rape and murder on July 7.

The information can be given to the CBI over telephone and mobile numbers 91-9650394782, 8219885920, 8219893590 (local numbers of Himachal Pradesh), landline numbers 011-24368637, 24368640 (Delhi numbers), mobile number 9870530011 and email [email protected]. “The name and details of the informer will be kept a secret,” the CBI said.

The CBI had registered the case under Sections 302, 376 of the IPC and Section 4 of the POCSO Act on July 19. The twin cases of Kotkhai minor rape and murder and custodial death were handed over to the CBI after Suraj, one of the six accused in the Gudiya case, was killed in the lock-up at the Kotkhai police station.

The CBI had submitted a chargesheet in the custodial death case and arrested nine police officials, including an IG, SP and DSP, who are in judicial custody. Despite questioning a number of suspects and taking blood samples of over 50 persons for DNA matching, the police have failed to reach a breakthrough.

However, the CBI had maintained that Suraj, Rajinder, Deepu, Chotu and Subash, who were arrested in the case by a special investigation team, were not the real accused after their brain mapping, narco and other scientific test proved their innocence.