CBI custody of IG, seven cops extended till Sept 7

The Shimla court has extended the police custody of inspector general of police (IG) Zahur Zaidi and seven other cops, arrested last week for the custodial death of Suraj, an accused in the Kotkhai rape and murder case, by three days, till September 7, here on Monday.

After the completion of seven-day remand, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an application seeking extension of the custody by a week.

The CBI said that it is yet to recoverthe danda (stick) and patta (belt) for which the custody is required.

However, the defence counsel has opposed the demand of CBI stating that the recovery of these items can be made even without keeping the cops in custody. Different defence counsels engaged by the accused said that the CBI took them to New Delhi and then on Sunday, they were taken to Kotkhai. Trial court judge Ranjit Singh Thakur heard the argument.

The CBI had arrested IG Zaidi, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Manoj Joshi, subinspector (SI) Rajinder Singh, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Deep Chand Sharma, head constables Surat Singh, Mohan Lal, Rafiq Ali and Ranjit Singh last Tuesday, and took them to New Delhi. Few days after the arrest, CBI summoned superintendent of police (SP) DW Negi, assistant superintendent of police (ASP) BD Negi, DSP Rattan Singh Negi to Delhi.

Initially, DSP Manoj Joshi was asked to investigate the Kotkhai rape case. The then Shimla SP DW Negi was sent to the spot on July 7, a day after the naked body of the minor school girl was found at Halaila forest in Kotkai of Shimla district.

Unable to make any headway in the case, Shimla police had constituted a special investigation team (SIT) on July 9.