The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested a former superintendent of police in Shimla, DW Negi, in connection with the Kothkai rape and custodial murder cases. Negi was investigating the cases before the CBI took over.

Six men had allegedly raped and murdered a 16-year-old schoolgirl in Kothkai in Shimla district on July 4. Days later, Rajendra Singh, the main accused in the case, allegedly killed his accomplice Suraj Singh in prison.

The agency’s move comes about two months after eight policemen were arrested in for the custodial death in August. The arrested included Inspector General of Police Zahoor H Zaidi and Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Joshi.

On Wednesday, the agency had filed an application in the Shimla High Court seeking approval to conduct voice sample tests of the eight policemen who were arrested. Their custody was also extended till November 17 when the case would next be heard in the court.

The case

The incident took place on July 4 when the six accused had offered the girl a lift when she was returning from school. They then 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. The police had arrested six people – four Nepali nationals and two from Uttarakhand – on July 14.

The custodial death of accused Suraj Singh on July 18 had triggered violent protests in the district. All the police station officials had been suspended after it was found that the station house inspector had lodged the six accused in two cells, instead of keeping them separately.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had on July 23 set up a Special Investigation Team to investigate the girl’s rape and murder as well as the custodial death cases.