GOVT NOT TRYING TO SAVE ANYONE, SAYS VIRBHADRA

SHIMLA: Chief minister (CM) Virbhadra Singh on Monday accused the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) of unnecessarily flaring up the Kotkhai rape and murder case.

Speaking to mediapersons at Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha complex, the chief minister defended the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the case and clarified that “the government was not trying to save anyone but no innocent should be punished for the crime”.

“Our police is efficient and has probed many heinous crimes successfully in the past,” said Virbhadra.

He said the government has referred the case to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) so that even the slightest of a doubt can be cleared.

“I have also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for CBI probe into the case and confirmation from central investigation agency (CIA) is awaited,” he added.

The CM said investigation by the SIT of state police was going in the right direction but a few people flared up the matter for their own interest.

“I am also in favour of stricter punishment to the perpetrators,” he said.

Replying to a question on photos of suspects posted on his Facebook page, Virbhadra clarified that he does not operate the page. “A team manages my Facebook page and they must have posted the photos on some information,” he said.