A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Chandigarh has convicted Himachal Pradesh Inspector General of Police Zahur Haider Zaidi and seven other police officials for the custodial death of Suraj Singh, one of the accused in the 2017 Kotkhai gangrape and murder case. The court will announce the quantum of sentence on January 27.

Among the convicted are then DSP Manoj Joshi, SI Rajinder Singh, ASI Deep Chand Sharma, HHC Mohan Lal, HHC Surat Singh, HC Rafee Mohammad, and Constable Ranit Sateta. Former SP DW Negi was acquitted.

The Kotkhai Gudiya Rape and Murder Case

On July 4, 2017, a 16-year-old girl went missing in Kotkhai, Himachal Pradesh. Her body was discovered in a forest two days later, on July 6. The post-mortem confirmed rape and murder, leading to a public outcry.

The state government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by IG Zahur Haider Zaidi, which arrested six suspects, including Suraj Singh. On July 18, 2017, Suraj died in custody at Kotkhai police station. Following his death, the Himachal Pradesh High Court handed over the investigations of both the gangrape and custodial death cases to the CBI.

Findings of the Investigation

The CBI’s investigation revealed that Suraj Singh was tortured in custody to extract a confession. Medical reports indicated over 20 injuries on his body, which were corroborated by a board of AIIMS doctors. The accused officers reportedly fabricated evidence and submitted false reports, claiming that Suraj was killed by another accused, Rajinder alias Raju, in the lockup.

The CBI filed charges against the accused officers, and after a trial involving over 52 witnesses, the court found them guilty of custodial death.

In 2019, the Supreme Court transferred the custodial death case from Shimla to Chandigarh for an expedited trial. The chargesheet filed by the CBI detailed the alleged torture, destruction of evidence, and submission of false reports by the accused.