NCW member Sushma Sahu, who went to Shimla for a fact-finding mission, told DNA that the case was marred with several attempts at cover-ups, some of which were initiated by the CM's office.
The National Commission of Women (NCW) has pointed at several lapses in the ongoing investigations by the Himachal Pradesh government, including intervention by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his office, into the gangrape and murder case of a schoolgirl in Kotkhai. The commission will now submit their report to the CBI, demanding filing of an FIR or issuing a show-cause to the CM.
NCW member Sushma Sahu, who went to Shimla for a fact-finding mission, told DNA that the case was marred with several attempts at cover-ups, some of which were initiated by the CM's office.
"When there was an outcry after the brutality of the incident was discovered, Pratibha Singh, the CM's wife and former MP, made a visit to the victim's house and offered them a compensation. She even asked them to not go ahead with the case," said Sahu.
Sahu further said that Mamta, wife of the accused Surat Singh, who was found dead inside the Theog police station on July 18, has alleged that when she went to meet her husband the night before his death, she found severe bruises on his body. The police claimed the co-accused in the case have killed him in a scuffle.
Sahu said the NCW will submit its report to the CBI to aid its investigations. "We will demand that the CM's role be scrutinised, especially after he revealed the name of the victim while issuing a notification to name a school after her. Either a show-cause notice or a FIR should have been filed against him," said Sahu.
The 15-year-old schoolgirl was kidnapped on her way back from school July 4, and her brutalised body was found on July 6. "The local police claimed the girl was killed on July 4. However, when her body was discovered, it did not show any sign of decomposition," she said.
Sahu added that a leg and an arm of the girl were broken, and the upper part of her body showed several bruises. "Her body was found next to a neat set of clothes, assumed to be the victim's. But, the soil on her body was different from the soil on the area where he body was found," said Sahu.
Questions galore
The body was found on July 6 after the girl went missing at July 4.
The police claimed the girl was killed on July 4, but there were no signs of decompositions.
A neat set of clothes were found next to the body, but the soil found on her body was not from that area.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "People protest outside HP Secretariat")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}