Shimla, March 29: In a significant development, the CBI today claimed before the Himachal High Court that it will arrest all the accused in the case before the next hearing of the case. The CBI made this statement after the high court directed the CBI Director to appear in person in the case to explain the reasons of slow probe in the case. However the Himachal High Court today directed the CBI Director to appear in person on May 9 instead of April 18. The HC also allowed the CBI team to file a status report on April 25 in Kotkhai gang rape and murder case.
While commenting on the CBI report submitted in the case, the CBI advocate Anshul Bansa said the CBI will arrested the accused in the case before next hearing and will produced before the court and media. After seeking progress in the case, the high court allowed the CBI to file a detailed report on April 25 in view of the fresh evidence submitted by it in the court.
The court will further review the appearance of the CBI director in the case on the basis of CBI report to be submitted on April 25. Yesterday the court has taken a serious view of the fact that the CBI has failed to arrested accused in the case despite taking a so much time and Directed the CBI Director to appear in the case on April 18. Thereafter the CBI has requested the court to allow it to file a fresh status report in the case on March 29. Previously in February, the CBI had received got the permission from the home department to prosecute IG Zahur Zaidi and seven other police officials in the case.
While the activists have expressed unhappiness with a slow investigation in the Kotkhai and Gang rape case
Going into the background of the case, in a rare of rarest heinous crime that shocked the Himachal, Gudiya who was studying in 10th class was gang-raped and murdered on July 4 this year when after attending the school she was on her way to home which is about 5 Km away. Two days later her body was recovered from the nearby forest area with serious injuries marks all over the body including private parts. Later autopsy report revealed that she was gang-raped and strangulated to death later. She was subjected to inhuman treatment by the accused. Gudiya’s leg and arm had fracture and cigarette burn scars on her body was also found.
The police has registered FIR in the case on July 6 under sections 302, 376 and POCSO act at police Station Kotkhai of Shimla. Subsequently following public protest the police had arrested total six persons include Ashish Chauhan, Rajender Singh alias Raju, Suraj Singh, Subhash Singh Bisht, Lokjan alias Chhotu and Deepak. Later Suraj, a Nepalese national was killed in police custody allegedly on the intervening night of July 18 and July 19. As a result, Himachal Pradesh which usually remains peacefully was marred with violent protests by the aggrieved and badly shaken people due to gang rape and murder of Gudiya. They people alleged that the deceased belongs to poor family and police had shielded the real accused in the case.
Later the case was handed over to CBI by the High Court. The CBI in its investigation found alleged involvement of police officials in the murder of Suraj. Thereafter the CBI arrested Inspector General of Police (IGP) Zahoor H Zaidi and 7 other policemen in connection with the custodial death of Suraj. Meanwhile, all the five accused were released on bail as the CBI has not filed chargesheet against them in a stipulated time period. It was also surfaced that CBI could not found anything substantial against the five during the investigation and even their DNA does not match with the DNA samples collected from the spot.
The CBI has arrested IG Zaidi and seven other police officials in the custodial death of one of the accused Suraj in the case. The CBI filed chargesheet against all the accused in Suraj custodial death case, but so far unable to arrest any accused involved in the gang rape and murder of Gudiya. The CBI has also announced a reward of Rs10 lakh to anyone from the general public for providing credible information resulting in an arrest of real culprits in a case relating to gang rape and murder of a minor girl of 10the class.
The CBI also filed charge-sheet in the case of custodial death of suspect Suraj in Kotkhai gang rape and murder case involving IG Zahur Zaidi and seven other police personnel within a stipulated time period. The police officers were arrested by the CBI for their involvement in the custodial death of Suraj of the suspect in the case.
The CBI chargesheet revealed that Suraj had suffered 32 serious injurious and died in police custody on July 18. Suraj was brutally beaten with batten and belt sticks was disclosed by the CBI in 600 pages chargesheet. The chargesheet against the accused IG and others was filed by the CBI under sections 302, 120-B, 348, 323, 326, 218, 201 of the IPC and total 50 witnesses in case. The CBI also arrested CM’s blue-eyed boy SP Vigilance DW Negi in the case.
