Following the fresh status report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Thursday amended its Wednesday’s order summoning the CBI director.
The CBI claimed that the accused behind the gang rape and murder of Gudia will be produced before the Court on 25 April.
The HC on Wednesday was upset over the slow progress in the Gudia gang-rape and murder case investigation in eight months had summoned the CBI Director on 18 April, asking him to file personal affidavit indicating the fresh status report. The court had also rejected the CBI counsel’s plea that the Director’s presence was not required.
CBI counsel Anshul Bansal talking to media persons on Thursday denied of the fresh development following HC summoning the CBI director, said, “Our investigations are scientifically based, we had yesterday (Wednesday) post noon received some reports after the Court hearing and hence on Thursday we filed a fresh status report.” He claimed that the case can be cracked by the CBI anytime.
“We have urged the court not to make the status report public in the interest of the public. We have in the report stated that hopefully by the next date on April we will produce the accused before the court. On the basis of the status report the court has modified the order,” he added.
The accused will be presented before the Court, media and public soon, he asserted.
The Gudia case pertains to gangrape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Kotkhai area of Shimla district, which shook the state in July, 2017. The state government had sought court intervention to handover the investigation of case to CBI after public pressure.
However, during the pendency of the petition, one of the six accused, arrested by the state Police in the case, was killed in the Kotkhai lock-up on 19 July, 2017, which flared up the public sentiments more.
While the Court ordered CBI probe into the rape and murder case on 19 July, it also asked CBI to probe the custodial death.
Nine arrests, including that of an Inspector General of Police heading the state Investigation team, have so far been made into the custodial death case.