The CBI on Saturday filed a chargesheet in a local court against eight policemen, including Inspector General Zahur H Zaidi, over the custodial death of an accused in the gangrape and murder of a schoolgirl in Shimla district. They were arrested on 29 August.
The 500-page chargesheet mentions the evidence of more than 50 witnesses, including the four rape accused. Superintendent of Police DW Negi, the ninth accused in the custodial death, was arrested on 16 November and is in judicial custody along with eight others till 7 December.
Since investigation against DW Negi is on and additional chargesheet will be filed later in the court.Police official investigating the case
Both the gangrape and custodial death cases are being monitored by the High Court that has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file the chargesheet in the custodial death case by 30 November.
The Incident
Police said the 16-year-old rape victims was offered a lift in a vehicle by the rape accused on 4 July when she was returning home from her school in Kotkhai town, 56 kms from the state capital. On the way, they raped and murdered her in a nearby forest. Her naked body with injury marks was found two days later.
The arrested persons include prime accused Rajinder Singh, who offered her the lift, Ashish Chauhan, Subhash Bisht, Deepak Kumar, Suraj Singh and Lokjan. They are believed to have been drunk at the time of committing the crime. Currently all the rape accused are out on bail.
However, the case took a twist after Rajinder Singh allegedly murdered a fellow accused Suraj Singh in the police lock-up on 19 July.
Inspector General Zaidi was heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the gangrape-cum-murder case before the CBI took over the case. At that time, Negi was posted in Shimla as the Superintendent of Police where both the crimes occurred.
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