HP custodial death: Judicial custody of cops extended till Jan

A court here today extended the judicial remand of nine police officers, including Inspector General of Police (IGP) Z H Zaidi, till January 31 in the case of custodial death of an accused in the rape-and-murder of a teenage girl in Kotkhai in Himachal Pradesh in July last year, CBI sources said.
The CBI registered two cases on the direction of the Himachal Pradesh High Court in July last year to probe the rape-and-murder of the 16-year-old girl and the second related to the custodial death of an accused, Suraj Singh, arrested by a special investigation team (SIT) of the Himachal Pradesh Police.

On August 29 last year, the CBI arrested then Inspector General of Police (IGP) Z H Zaidi, who was heading the SIT, then Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Theog Manoj Joshi, the then Station House Officer of Kotkhai, one Assistant Sub-Inspector, three head constables and one constable in the custodial death case.
On November 16 last year, the agency arrested then Superintendent of Police (SP) of Shimla D W Negi.
The accused were produced in the court today and their judicial remanded was extended till January 31.
All the accused are lodged in Tanda jail near here.

The CBI has already filed charge sheet against the eight policemen. D W Negi is yet to be charged.

The hearing on the plea pertaining to matching voice samples of the accused was also deferred today as no advocate appeared in the court on behalf of the accused and it would be heard on February 5.
The Class X student had gone missing on July 4 and her naked body was recovered from Haliala forests in Kotkhai on July 6.
Suraj Singh, a 29-year-old labourer from Nepal, was among six people arrested by the SIT which was initially probing the rape case. The remaining five accused in the rape-and-murder case have been released on bail.
Singh was killed allegedly by another accused in the case at Kotkhai police station on the intervening night of July 18 and 19, triggering a massive public outrage.