Hindustan Times (Jalandhar)

CBI team visits crime spot, meets top police officials

- Gaurav Bisht gaurav.bisht@hindustant­imes.com

SHIMLA: Three days after it formally registered and launched an investigat­ion into the Kothkai rape and murder case, sleuths of the Central Bureau of Investigat­ion (CBI) visited the crime spot in Haliala village, nearly 80 kilometers from Shimla, to gather circumstan­tial evidences. The student’s body was found from a forested area on July 4.

The CBI has divided its team into two. While one team is investigat­ing the rape and murder case, the other is probing the death of Nepalese migrant, Suraj, who was arrested as an accused in the case but died under mysterious circumstan­ce in jail.

It is learnt that the visit to the crime scene was to investigat­e the merits on allegation­s against the Himachal Pradesh Police of conducting a shoddy probe in to the case.

On July 13, forensic experts of the CBI had visited the crime scene and inquired about antecedent­s of six accused that the police had arrested the same day.

The police had claimed the arrest to be a “breakthrou­gh”.

The CBI team also gathered informatio­n from relatives of the rape and murder victim.

THE TEAM SPOKE TO VICTIM’S KIN AND ALSO INQUIRED ABOUT THE NEPALESE NATIONAL WHO DIED IN JAIL

They also inquired about Suraj who lived in a hut close to forest where the victim’s body was found.

Besides this, the team examined the vehicle which is said to have been used for the crime.

Team members also met director general of police (DGP) Somesh Goyal and inspector general of police (South zone), Ajay Yadav.

Meanwhile, Suraj’s body continues to lie in the mortuary at the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla.

DHUMAL MEETS VICTIM’S FAMILY

Former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Monday also visited family members of the rape victim at Shirgui village. He also asked chief minister Virbhadra Singh to step down.

On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur, Anurag Thakur, also wrote to the chief minister criticisin­g the state government for the “deteriorat­ing” law and order situation in Una district.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from India