CBI files status report in high court on Kotkhai custodial death

SHIMLA: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed its status report on the probe into the custodial death of a suspect in the Kotkhai gang rape and murder case before the Himachal high court on Thursday.

The court had asked the CBI to file the charge sheet before November 30.

The CBI filed the charge sheet on November 25 against eight cops, including inspector general of police Zahur Zaidi. The CBI also told the court that a supplementary charge sheet will be filed soon against former Shimla superintendent of police (SP) DW Negi, who was arrested in the case on November 16. CBI counsel Anshul Bansal said the status report along with the charge sheet has been submitted before the bench. He said three teams, comprising 10 officials, are investigating the case.

The high court bench of acting chief justice Sanjay Karol and justice Sandeep Sharma asked the CBI to speed up probe.

The CBI filed the charge sheet against Zaidi, deputy superintendent of police Manoj Joshi, sub-inspector Rajinder Singh, the head of the Kotkhai police station, assistant sub-inspector Deep Chand, head constables Rafee Mohammad, Mohan Lal, Surat Singh and Ranjeet Streta. They were arrested on August 29.

The charge sheet says the SIT made “false entries in records and submitted fabricated reports” to the state police chief that another man they had arrested in the case, Rajinder, killed Suraj in jail. “The injuries on Suraj’s body were sustained by a blunt, hard cylindrical object such as a lathi. The medical board rules out the possibility of sustaining injury in a scuffle,” the charge sheet says.