CBI files charge sheet in Kotkhai custodial death case against 8 cops

Bhanu Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, November 25

The CBI on Saturday filed a charge sheet in the custodial death case against eight police officials, including an IG and DSP, arrested on August 29.

The 500-page charge sheet and allied documents mention more than 50 witnesses, including the four accused who were lodged with Suraj, the deceased, at the Kotkhai police station on July 18 when Suraj died in custody.

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The court extended judicial custody of all nine accused in the case, including SP DW Negi, till December 7.

The next date of hearing on the voice sample case is fixed for December 7 as the lawyer of accused party did not appear in the court.

Superintendent of Police D.W. Negi, the ninth accused in the custodial death who was arrested on November 16, is in judicial custody along with eight others till December 7.

"Since investigation against D.W. Negi is on and additional charge sheet will be filed later in the court," an investigator said.

Both the gang rape and custodial death cases are being monitored by the high court, which has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file the charge sheet in the custodial death case by November 30.

Police said the 16-year-old girl victim was offered a lift in a vehicle by the accused on July 4 when she was returning home from her school in Kotkhai town, 56 km from the state capital.

On the way, they raped and murdered her in a nearby forest. Her naked body with injury marks was found two days later.

The arrested persons include prime accused Rajinder Singh, who offered her the lift, Ashish Chauhan, Subhash Bisht, Deepak Kumar, Suraj Singh and Lokjan. They are believed to have been drunk at the time of committing the crime. Currently all the rape accused are on bail.

However, a new twist in the case came after Rajinder Singh allegedly murdered a fellow accused Suraj Singh in the police lock-up on July 19.

Inspector General Zaidi was heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the gangrape-cum-murder case before the CBI took over the case.

At that time, Negi was posted in Shimla as the Superintendent of Police where both the crimes occurred.  With IANS