Minor rape, murder case: Virbhadra’s IT cell under scanner

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh’s IT cell has reportedly come under the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) lens in the probe of the Kotkhai rape and murder case and the death of a Nepalese national in police custody.

Sources in the CBI said that the cell is under the scanner as it uploaded the photographs of four innocent youths on his Facebook page and projected them as suspects who were called for interrogation. The chief minister’s office is tight lipped on the matter.

Meanwhile, the CM’s IT advisor Gokul Butail denied having any information. “All I can say is that it was not downloaded or uploaded by me,” he said.

However, the Facebook post acted a catalyst to the widespread public anger against the alleged mishandling of the case by the police. The pictures of the four youth had gone viral which further strengthened doubts about the shoddy police investigation.

The chief minister's Facebook page is run by a group of administrators, including some volunteers. Sources say, the chief minister has ordered an internal inquiry to ascertain the veracity of the goof up and also sought legal opinion on the matter. One of his social networking manager has reportedly been removed.

The four youths later filed a police complaint as they “feared” for their life. They had also submitted a complaint with the cyber cell and sought its help in getting their photographs removed from social media.

In his post dated July 12, the Virbhadra wrote: “I would like to inform the people of Himachal Pradesh that four suspects have been taken into police custody and further investigations are being conducted.”

The post went on to congratulate the investigating team lead by IGP Zahur Zaidi for “cracking” the case.

The cyber cell is also tight lipped about the entire episode. It neither accepts nor denies having received any complaint.

NCW PUTS CM IN DOCK

Meanwhile, the national commission for women has put the Singh government in the dock.

A spokesperson for the women’s rights body said they raised questions about the handling of the case and the incident regarding the uploading of the photos from Singh’s account. She also pulled up the government over naming a school after the victim as the laws forbids disclosing her name.