Another Himachal police officer held over custodial death

Shimla, Nov 16 : Another Indian Police Service (IPS) officer was arrested in Himachal Pradesh by the CBI on Thursday over the custodial death of an accused in the sensational gangrape-cum-murder of a school girl in Shimla district, an official said.

Superintendent of Police D.W. Negi is the ninth police personnel to be arrested in the case.

D.W. Negi was arrested for the custodial death of an accused, a Central Bureau of Investigation official told IANS. He was sent to police remand by a Shimla court till November 20.

His subordinate Bhajan Negi was also summoned for questioning, he said.

Both D.W. Negi, known for his proximity to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, and Additional Superintendent of Police Bhajan Negi were posted in Shimla when the crime occurred. Both were subsequently replaced.

Earlier, Inspector General Zahur H. Zaidi, who was heading the Special Investigation Team probing the crime, was arrested along with seven police personnel on charges of negligence of duty, which allegedly led to death of one of the accused in lock-up.

They were also arrested by the CBI, which took over the investigation on August 29. They are still in judicial custody.

Police said the 16-year-old girl victim was offered a lift in a vehicle by the accused on July 4 when she was returning home from her school in Kotkhai town, 56 km 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 on bail.

Following the crime, people held massive protests in the state. The family of the victim alleged that the "real culprits" from high-profile families, had gotten away "scot free".

Later, on the plea of the state government, the state High Court recommended a CBI probe into the case.