SC Transfers Kotkhai Rape-Murder Case From Shimla to Chandigarh

A bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi and comprised Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna transferred the case.

The accused in the Kotkhai gang rape and murder case taken to be produced before a CBI court in Shimla on 25 April, 2018.

(Photo: IANS)

The Supreme Court has transferred a case from Shimla to Chandigarh on Tuesday, 7 May 2019.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday transferred a case relating to the alleged custodial death of an accused in a gang-rape and the murder of a minor school girl in Himachal Pradesh's Kotkhai in 2017, from Shimla to Chandigarh.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi transferred the case to Chandigarh after the CBI and the accused said that they have no objection if the case was transferred from Shimla.

“We order transfer of the case to a competent CBI court in Chandigarh,” said the bench. The bench consisted of Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna.

The counsel appearing for the CBI informed the bench that the charge sheet has been filed in the case against several police officials right from the constable to the former Inspector General of Police (IGP).

Earlier, the CBI had told the court that though the charge sheet has been filed, the trial in the case "has not seen the light of the day" and hence the matter be transferred to other court for expeditious disposal.

What Happened to Haider Zaidi and Other Accused in the Case?

Last month, the apex court had granted bail to former Himachal Pradesh (IGP) Zahur Haider Zaidi, an accused in the case, and said that it would later deal with the aspect of transferring the trial from a court in Himachal Pradesh.

The top court in November last year, had sought responses from Zaidi, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Theog) Manoj Joshi and six other Himachal Pradesh policemen as to why the trial against them should not transferred from Shimla.

Zaidi and seven others were arrested in the custodial death case of Suraj, who was found dead at the Kotkhai police station on 18 July 2017.

What Had Happened in Kotkhai?

A 16-year-old girl had gone missing in Kotkhai on 4 July, 2017 and her body was found from the Halaila forests two days later on 6 July. The post-mortem report had confirmed rape and murder and a case was registered.

Amid a huge public outcry in the state, a SIT headed by Zaidi was constituted by the then Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government.

The SIT arrested six persons, and after the custodial death of one of the accused Suraj, the high court had handed over the investigations of both the cases to the CBI.

The CBI had arrested Zaidi, DCP Joshi and other policemen in connection with the custodial death.

'Painstaking scientific investigations virtually starting from the scratch. including use of advanced DNA mapping and technical surveillance, spread over nearly nine months in complete secrecy helped the CBI finally crack the sensational Kotkhai rape-murder case,' reported The Quint on 25 April 2018.

The probe was taken over by the agency on 22 July 2017 on the orders of the Himachal Pradesh High Court was monitored by the top brass of the agency.

(With inputs from PTI)