The Himachal Pradesh Police have arrested six people in connection with the rape and murder of a 16-year-old schoolgirl near Shimla on July 4, IANS reported on Friday. Meanwhile, the state government handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, The Indian Express reported.

The four arrested accused, aged between 19 and 42 years, include two Nepali nationals and two men from Uttarakhand. “One accused was arrested yesterday [Thursday] and five others were arrested today [Friday] in the rape and murder of a girl in Kotkhai [in Shimla district],” said Director General of Police Somesh Goyal. The police said most of the accused were farm labourers and had settled in Kotkhai region of the state.

The incident took place on July 4 when the accused had offered a lift to the 16-year-old girl who was returning from school. The men took her to a nearby forest where they allegedly raped her before killing her. The girl’s body was found two days later on July 6.

“In this case, we had no witness and no CCTV footage,” said Inspector General Zahur H Zaidi, who headed a Special Investigation Team for the case. “Even most of the evidence at the spot was washed away by rains. We have now gathered sufficient human and technical evidence.”