Cops Held Accountable: Himachal IG, 7 Others Convicted For Custodial Death

In a significant verdict, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Saturday convicted Himachal Pradesh Inspector General of Police ZH Zaidi and seven other police personnel for the custodial death of an accused in a 2017 gangrape-murder case.

The convicted officers include the then Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Joshi, Sub-Inspector Rajinder Singh, Assistant Sub-Inspector Deep Chand Sharma, Mohan Lal, Surat Singh, Rafee Mohammad, and Ranit Sateta. However, former Superintendent of Police DW Negi was acquitted.

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The case dates back to July 2017, when a minor girl went missing in Kotkhai, Shimla district. Her body was found two days later, sparking widespread outrage and arson. The police initially claimed that the accused had offered the girl a lift, leading to her gangrape and murder.

After the crime, the Himachal Pradesh government agreed to recommend a CBI probe. The CBI took over the case and arrested nine police personnel, including Zaidi, for the custodial death of accused Suraj. Zaidi was head of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the case before the CBI took over.

The SIT had arrested six persons, one of whom (Suraj) died at the Kotkhai police station on the night of July 18, 2017. Zaidi and eight others were arrested in connection with the custodial death.

The CBI, which arrested Nilu, said he was the lone accused, while those arrested by the Himachal Police were not involved. Charges against them were dropped.

Inspector General Zaidi was reinstated in November 2019 after he was released on bail on April 5, 2019, by the Supreme Court. The government again suspended him on January 15, 2020, after Superintendent of Police Soumya Sambasivan alleged that he was pressurizing her to change her statement.

The court will pronounce the sentence on January 27. This conviction is a significant step towards accountability, especially given the sensitive nature of the case. The Supreme Court transferred the case to Chandigarh in 2019 for expeditious disposal.