Chandigarh

Seeking three months for concluding its investigation into Kotkhai gang rape and murder case, a Special Investigation Team of the CBI on Wednesday submitted its first status report on the investigations held till now.

Taking exception to the demand of three months, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh has asked the premier investigating agency to conclude the probe as soon as possible.

Submitting its first status report in the court, Anshul Bansal, counsel for CBI, pleaded for not making the report public. Bansal urged that CBI had recently taken over the probe and keeping the sensitivity of the matter in consideration, the report might not be made public.

Acknowledging the plea of CBI, the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Sharma, directed the investigation agency to file the status report in a sealed cover. The High Court has ordered to keep the status report in sealed cover till further orders.

Talking to media, Anshul Bansal said CBI had just last week taken over the probe and the investigation had been on an initial stage. He said, keeping in view the sensitivity of the matter and physical stature of the findings till now, the court was requested not to make the report public.

He said that the investigation agency had sought three months time as the matter had come to CBI quite late and the agency had to probe two matters in the case, one of the gang rape and murder of Gudiya and the other of the murder of Suraj, an accused in the Kotkhai gang rape who was killed in police custody, allegedly by another accused in the same case.

The CBI had taken over the probe in the Kotkhai gang rape and murder case on July 22, three days after the High Court of Himachal Pradesh directed the agency to take up the probe. Taking the probe in its hands, CBI had registered two FIRs, one in the Kotkhai gang rape and the other in the case of murder of an accused in the Kotkhai gang rape in the custody of Himachal Pradesh police.

Bansal said that taking the sealed status report in the record, the High Court had directed the CBI to file further status report on investigation on August 17, the next date of hearing.

The shocking Kotkhai gang rape had come to light on July 6, when the dead body of 16 year old school girl was found in the Tandi forest area near Kotkhai. The girl had gone missing on July 4 but her missing was reported on July 5, when the family came to know about missing of their daughter.