Kothkai Rape Case: HC Gives CBI Eleven Weeks to Complete Probe

The CBI filed a new affidavit in the rape and murder of the 16-year-old in the Himachal village.

An anti-rape protest. Photo used for representational purposes.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Himachal Pradesh High Court, on 10 January, gave the CBI eleven weeks to complete the investigations in the rape-and-murder case of a minor girl in Kothkai.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Sharma passed the orders after perusing the status report submitted by the CBI which also filed an affidavit in the court and asked for more time to complete the investigations.

The court has fixed March 28 for the next hearing in the matter.

The 16-year-old girl had gone missing in Halila in Kothkai area of Shimla district on July 4 last year and her bare body was recovered on 6 July.

After the postmortem report confirmed rape and murder, a case was registered and following public outcry, a Special Investigation team was constituted which arrested six persons.

One of the six accused in the case died in police custody and eight police officers, including an IG-rank officer, were arrested by the CBI in connection with the custodial death.

Both the matters - the rape-and-murder case and the custodial death case - were handed to the CBI on 19 July.

The CBI has already filed charge-sheet against eight police personnel in custodial death case and the accused are in jail but there has been no breakthrough in the rape-and- murder case.

The CBI has also announced an award of Rs 10 lakh for providing credible clue in the rape-and-murder case.

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