Dissatisfied with probe, Himachal HC summons CBI chief

Dissatisfied with the investigation in the Kotkhai rape and murder case, the Himachal Pradesh high court on Wednesday summoned director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Alok Kumar Verma and asked him to appear in the next hearing on April 18.

CBI on Wednesday sought three months time to complete the investigation. The probe agency said it needed more time to analyse some new reports and unearth new facts. The double bench comprising acting chief justice Sanjay Karol and justice Sandeep Sharma said CBI officials have worked on the case but probe bears no fruitful result.

The court said heinous crime shook sentiments of people of the state and another heinous crime (custodial death of accused) shook the faith of people in the police.

“Perhaps the investigation agency is clueless in this case. Despite all facilitation, no fruitful result has come so far,” the bench said.

In July 2017, the HC bench had asked CBI to speed up the probe. The high court had directed the state to provide assistance to the probe agency, who has been investigating Kotkhai gangrape and murder case along with the custodial death case of an accused.

On December 15 last year, CBI had announced a reward of ₹10 lakh for providing credible information about the accused.

On July 4, a Class 10 girl went missing, whose body was recovered on July 6 from Halaila forest in Kotkhai of Shimla district. The medical reports confirmed the rape. A special investigation team (SIT) headed by then inspector general (IG) southern range S Zahur Zaidi was setup to probe the case.

On July 12, the SIT had detained six youth, including some of the Nepalese labourer, and the next day it announced solving the case.

On July 14, the locals staged violent protest outside the Theog police station and also vandalised some vehicles.

SHIMLA: