HC directs SIT members to file separate affidavits in Kotkhai

The Himachal Pradesh High Court today directed the members of Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted to probe the Kotkhai rape and murder case to file separate affidavits in the court.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Sharma which had impleaded them as respondents in the case yesterday asked them to file the affidavits in "sealed cover" and fixed the next date of hearing on August 24.
The seven-member SIT led byInspector General of Police Zahur H Zaidi has one Additional SP, two DSPs, one Station House Officer, one Sub-Inspector and an Assistant Sub Inspector.

The case was handed over to the CBI on the directions of the high court which gave two weeks time to the agency to conclude the investigations in the twin cases of the rape and murder and custodial death of accused Suraj after perusing the status report submitted by the CBI yesterday.
The 16-year-old girl had gone missing after school hours onJuly4 from Haliala forest in Kotkhai area of Shimla district.
Her bare body was found in the forest onJuly 6 and the postmortem report confirmed rape.

The DGP constituted the SIT headed by an officer of IG rank which arrested six persons and one of the accused was killed while in police custody in Kotkhai police station.

This triggered protests across the state and the government then handed over the case to the CBI.
Later, one of the accused Suraj, a Nepalese, was allegedly killed in police lock up on the intervening night of July 18 and 19.
According to police, Suraj was killed by another accused.