Kullu cops ‘botch up’ probe, CBI lodges FIR for Haryana boy’s ‘murder’

A case regarding the mysterious death of a Haryana youth at Tosh in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, in December 2023, in which the police did not even register an FIR for a year, was finally taken over by the CBI on the directions of the high court. The probe agency has now registered a case of murder and criminal conspiracy.

Vaibhav Yadav (22), a commerce graduate hailing from Haryana who was pursuing CA, had died after falling from the fourth floor of a hotel where he was staying as a tourist with his three friends — Kushagra, Shashank Sharma and Ritika Mittal.

The police, despite the deceased’s family raising suspicions, did not find any foul play in the matter and subsequently proceeded with inquest proceedings without registering an FIR.

Body was found in tosh hotel

• Vaibhav Yadav (22) had died after falling from the fourth floor of a hotel in Tosh
• A commerce graduate and pursuing CA, he was staying with his friends Kushagra, Shashank Sharma and Ritika Mittal
• The police, despite the deceased’s family raising suspicions, did not find any foul play in the matter
• The police proceeded with inquest proceedings without registering an FIR

The Himachal Pradesh High Court, in its order last month, while recommending that the investigation be handed over to the CBI, rebuked the Kullu police for their “botched up” investigation and also observed that the fundamental rights of the victim were violated at the “hands of state’s law enforcement agency”.

From initially not even knowing who reported the matter to the police to alleged involvement of a trainee IPS officer in influencing the case, the court had observed a series of lacunae in the police investigation.

The police version states that four friends — Vaibhav, Kushagra, Shashank and Ritika — were staying at a hotel in Tosh on December 9, 2023. In the evening, all of them went to an eatery for dinner, but Vaibhav was not feeling well and returned along with Shashank.

After reaching the hotel, Vaibhav’s health deteriorated and Shashank went back to inform his friends. When all of them returned, they did not find Vaibhav in the hotel room. They checked the balcony and found Vaibhav lying on the ground in an injured condition.

The court fired a barrage of questions at the police which it believed were still unanswered. Why did Shashank go back to the cafe despite Vaibhav’s deteriorating condition when he could have easily intimated through a mobile call, the court had observed.

An explanation was made to the court’s query that the telephone call could not be made for want of signal to which the court further observed that it was Shashank who had informed the police about the incident through a phone call.

It was alleged that the Kullu police never made any effort to ascertain whether the deceased had committed suicide or had an accidental fall or was pushed by someone. Even if it was a case of suicide, the police never tried to find out whether there was an angle of abetment.

The case will be a hard nut to crack for the CBI given the fact that almost a year has passed since the mysterious death of Vaibhav. “We hope and trust that the CBI, with its investigative skills, will be able to arrive at the truth of the matter,” the court had observed.