NCSC reprimands police for trying to cover-up Shimla schoolgirl case

The 16-year-old girl had gone missing in Kotkhai area here after school hours on July 4 and her body was found in the nearby Haliala forest on July 6.

Shimla, August 14: The Shimla police ahs been reprimanded by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes for "trying to hush up" a case of alleged rape and killing of a schoolgirl and demanded that murder charges be slapped on the policemen for the custodial death of an accused.

NCSC member Swaraj Vidwan, who met the family of the victim at Kotkhai yesterday, alleged "gaps" in police probe indicated that there was a conspiracy to save the real culprits.

She claimed that all the people she met were of the opinion that the matter was being hushed up. Vidwan alleged that the police tried to cover up the case and that all the people she had met were of the same opinion and demanded that the real culprits be brought to the book and punished.

She claimed that people had lost confidence in the police and they maintained that the probe was in the right direction till it was being handled by the DSP but got derailed after the SIT was set up.

"The death of accused Suraj, a Nepalese national, in police custody further raised suspicion on the role of the police in the entire case," she alleged. She questioned how he died when policemen were present in the police station and said that murder charges be slapped on the policemen for the custodial death of an accused.

She alleged that "some top cops and politicians" tried to influence the probe and the real culprits were not arrested at their behest. Vidwan said she also met the parents of the victim yesterday and they were still in shock.

"Her parents want speedy justice and they are seeking the arrest of real culprits in the case," she said. She said now that the case has been handed over to the CBI, she was hopeful that the culprits would be brought to book.

She said that she has taken statements of parents of the victims and other persons and would soon submit the report to the central government. The 16-year-old girl had gone missing in Kotkhai area here after school hours on July 4 and her body was found in the nearby Haliala forest on July 6.

PTI