Custodial death case: CBI submits status report in Himachal HC

Shimla: The CBI on Friday submitted in the Himachal Pradesh High Court a status report on its probe into the custodial death of an accused in the rape-and-murder of a teenage girl in Kotkhai in Himachal Pradesh in July.

In the status report submitted before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Sharma, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that it had already filed charge sheet against eight police personnel, including an inspector general-rank officer, in connection with the custodial death.

It said that the investigation was continuing and that a supplement charge-sheet would be filed if more people were found involved in the case, according to CBI counsel Anshul Bansal.

The bench asked the agency to file another status report by December 20.

The CBI registered two cases on the direction of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in July this year to probe the rape-and-murder of the 16-year-old girl and the second related to the custodial death of an accused, Suraj Singh, arrested by a special investigation team (SIT) of the Himachal Pradesh Police.

Singh was killed allegedly by another accused in the case at Kotkhai police station on the intervening night of July 18 and 19, triggering a massive public outrage.

Singh, a 29-year-old labourer from Nepal, was among six people arrested by the SIT which was initially probing the rape case. The remaining five accused in the rape-and-murder case have been released on bail.

On August 29, the CBI arrested then Inspector General of Police (IGP) Z H Zaidi, who was heading the SIT, then Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Theog Manoj Joshi, the then Station House Officer of Kotkhai, one Assistant Sub-Inspector, three head constables and one constable in the custodial death case.

On November 16, the agency arrested then Superintendent of Police (SP) of Shimla D W Negi.

In its charge sheet filed in a special court on November 25, the CBI said there was no evidence against the person who the state police claimed had killed Singh.

The CBI has also included the names of ASP Bhajan Negi and DSP Rattan Negi, both members of the disbanded SIT, in its charge sheet.

The CBI charge-sheet mentioned that Suraj Singh died due to severe torture.

The Class X student had gone missing on July 4 and her naked body was recovered from Haliala forests in Kotkhai on July 6.