Policewoman from Nithari arrested for abetment

CBI says Simranjit Kaur forged records to shield Pandher

NEW DELHI: Just days before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is scheduled to file a chargesheet in the serial killing of minor girls and women in Nithari, the agency on Monday arrested the investigating police officer, who is accused of not only accepting gifts from the accused duo but also keeping incorrect police records to protect them.

Officials said Simranjit Kaur, the sub-inspector who was posted at the Nithari outpost, was called for questioning in the headquarters and was later arrested on charges of helping the Moninder Singh Pandher and his help Surinder Koli.

“She was hand-in-glove and had deliberately kept incorrect records to protect the duo,” said a senior official. He added the agency had recovered several documents relating to the case when they had raided the house of Kaur in Meerut in January this year.

“We had recovered gifts, cash and documents relating to the missing children and details about the methods of the police investigations,” said the officer. 

The Noida Police had started investigations against Pandher and Koli but had stopped them midway.  Officials said that Kaur was arrested because she had initially denied registering the missing complaint of Payal, a sex-worker who was killed by Koli in May last year. Payal had gone missing from Nithari in April but the local police registered a case only after the intervention of the court.