Constitute SIT, request High Court to monitor the investigation: Shanta Kumar
Palampur: BJP veteran leader and former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar has again pointed finger at the investigation of Gudiya Rape and Murder case and demanded reinvestigation in the case.
Shanta Kumar, in a letter to state Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, urged him to order reinvestigation into the Gudiya rape and murder case.
Shanta said that the CBI investigation did not reach its logical end and. Therefore, the government must go for a fresh probe, Shanta Kumar wrote in the letter.
Read More: Protests, allegations end with poll and change of Govt, still no justice for innocent girl
Ex Chief Minister advised the Government to constitute an SIT comprising four retired Director Generals of Police along with serving police officers in consultation with Leader of the Opposition.
To ensure fair and transparent investigation, Shanta Kumar suggested Government to request the HP High Court to monitor the investigation.
Blaming state police of mishandling the investigation, the former Chief Minister said that the state police had mishandled the case and hence it was handed over to the CBI at a very later stage. He suspected that the top police officer had destroyed the evidences on the behest of politician so that CBI could not get to the actual culprit.
Read More: Gudiya Murder Case: Mystery, custodial death and arrest of top police officers
In July, 2017, a 16 years old school girl was raped and murdered and her mutilated body was found in Halaila Forest in Kotkhai region.
SIT probe, Custodial killing, Govt transfer case to CBI
The then state government constituted SIT to speed up the investigation, which failed to nab the culprit. The SIT nabbed six accused, mainly laborours, and one accused died during the police interrogation, which angered locals, who hold protests outside the police state Kotkhai and later protest spread in whole state and following that, the state Government, under pressure from increasing public anger, transferred the case to the CBI.
CBI arrested Top police officers
CBI, in its investigation, rejected the leads of SIT and later also arrested SIT members Inspector-General of Police, Zahoor H Zaidi, DSP Manoj Joshi and six other police personnel in connection of alleged custodial death of a gang-rape and murder accused in Shimla.
Though, CBI later arrested one person, a daily wager, in the case, but it also failed to satisfy the family members of victim.
Victim’s mother demands fresh CBI probe under supervision of a sitting HC judge
Recently, victim’s mother had approached the High Court and demanding fresh CBI probe in the case. Mother, in her petition, demanded a re-investigation from CBI under the supervision of a sitting HC judge.
Victim’s family has pointed out that the forensic report was not included in the CBI charge-sheet, that the medical examination had not led to any conclusion on the timing of the victim’s death, the status report was delayed and the charge-sheet was mum on the missing socks and money trail.
Earlier, victim’s family had also approached Supreme Court, which had asked petitioner to file petition in High Court.
