In another major crackdown on the Himachal Pradesh police, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested former SP, Shimla DW Negi reportedly in connection with the custodial death case of Suraj Singh, an accused in the Kotkhai gangrape and murder case.
He was produced in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Ranjeet Singh in the evening and has been sent to five-day police remand. CBI spokesperson RK Gaur said that Negi had been charged with the custodial death of Suraj Singh, and the investigating agency had got some vital clues against him.
Negi was Superintendent of Police, Shimla when the Kotkhai gangrape and murder case had come to light. He remained Security Officer of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh also and remained a blue-eyed officer of CM. He was in charge of the investigation in the Kotkhai gangrape and murder case, before the setting up of a Special Investigation Team to be headed by IG ZH Zaidi.
Negi, had visited the spot, where the body of the Kotkhai gangrape victim schoolgirl was found in the forest area of Kotkhai on July 6. He was also a member of the SIT of Himachal Pradesh police that had arrested 6 people in connection with the Kotkhai gangrape and murder.
Even as the CBI failed to crack the Kotkhai gangrape and murder case despite a lapse of more than five months, the arrest of Negi is the ninth arrest made in the custodial death of Suraj Singh, who was murdered in the custody of Himachal Pradesh police on the intervening night of July18/19.
Earlier on August 29, CBI had arrested total 8 cops of Himachal Pradesh police including IG ZH Zaidi, head of the SIT, and Manoj Joshi, DSP of Shimla. All the eight arrested cops have been in judicial custody since then. CBI had summoned DW Negi and Additional SP Bhajan Dass Negi to Delhi for questioning last month.
On Thursday, CBI had sought judicial permission to record the voice samples of all the arrested cops. Senior IPS officer and Inspector General ZH Zaidi. DSP Manoj Joshi, SHO Rajinder Singh, ASI Deep Chand, Head constables, Surat Singh, Mohan lal, latif Ali and constable Ranjeet are in judicial custody in the matter.
The case had attained political magnitude in the run up to the Assembly polls in the State and was used by the opposition to attack the ruling party. The custodial death of Suraj had jolted the entire State as a strong public outcry followed the death of Suraj Singh across the State.
The brutal Kotkhai gangrape had came to light on July 6 and it had jolted the entire hill State. The case was handed over to the premier investigation agency on July 19 after the State faced unprecedented public ire and demonstrations all over the State.
The SIT constituted by the State Government had nabbed six people in connection with the Kotkhai gangrape and murder case, in which a 16 year old school girl was kidnapped on July 4 and her body was found dumped into a forest area near Kotkhai after brutal gangrape.
The case took a disgusting turn, when an accused, Suraj, arrested by the SIT of Himachal Pradesh was murdered in the police lock up. The death of Suraj in police custody led to violent protests across the State.
The CBI, while has not made any more arrests in the Kotkhai gangrape case but it arrested eight officials of Himachal Pradesh, including IG, SH Zaidi, the head of SIT constituted by Himachal Pradesh Government.
CBI had got Narco-analysis test and polygraph tests conducted on the five accused arrested by the Himachal Pradesh police. Agency is said to have grilled more than 200 people in relation to the Kotkhai gangrape and murder case.