Protest against police for 'covering up' rape-murder case

Over 1,000 poeple today held a protest demonstration and blocked Dehradun-Chandigarh National Highway here against police's alleged failure to nab the killers of the 24-year-old woman whose body was recovered two days ago, even though police claimed to have arrested the main accused.
Raising slogans, the residents, most of them women, of Sataun, Poka and Kodga panchayats of Sirmour district alleged that the police was acting under pressure and trying to hush up the alleged rape-and-murder case of the woman in Baila village.
The locals refused to perform the last rites of the deceased, and vacated the road only after SP Soumya Sambsivan intervened and assured that action would taken as per law and declined that police was succumbing to pressure.

She said the main accused Vipin (24), a resident of village Kansar of Dharti Dhar area, who allegedly raped and brutally killed the girl has been arrested.
The accused has confessed to have committed the crime, Sambsivan said.
He told the police that he raped and killed the victim by strangulating and hitting her with stones in the jungle where he took her on his two-wheeler on the evening of May 31 and buried her next morning under stones, she said.
He was arrested after tracing the call details of deceased who had made last call to him, the SP said.

She said that people were protesting due to "some misunderstandings" and vowed the matter will be thoroughly investigated.