5 years after tribal girl’s murder, CID arrests police station in-charge

FIVE YEARS and six months after16-year-old tribal girl, Meena Khalkho, was shot and killed, the Chhattisgarh CID has arrested the then Chando police station in-charge, Nikodin Khes, for the murder.

In July 2011, a police team from the Chando police station, close to the Jharkhand border in north Chhattisgarh, had shot and killed Khalkho. Police had claimed that she was a Maoist. The girl’s family had denied all suchchargesandsaiditwasafake encounter.

Later, a one-person judicial probe by Justice Anita Jha held in April 2015 that not only was Khalkho killed in a fake encounter, but there was also the possibility that she was raped before being killed.

ADG CID R K Vij said, “Yes, we arrested Khes on Tuesday, and he has been sent to judicial remand by the court.” The court of Shantanu Deshlahre in Raipur sent Khes to a 14-day remand.

Police officials told The Indian Express that they intend to arrest two other officials named during the course of the investigation.

“Even if it was a 25-member team that went, only two bullets were fired, and all can’t be held responsible. The other two will be arrested soon,” the officials added.

Police have so far been silent on adding sections of rape to the FIR, despite the findings of the Anita Jha commission, which said that there was medical evidence to suggest that force was used during intercourse before Khalkho was killed.