Rape, murder and custodial death later, few answers, deep suspicion in Himachal village

A day later, the SIT claimed to have cracked the case and arrested six men: Ashish Chauhan, son of a prominent local apple grower; Rajender Singh, a manager at an apple orchard; and Suraj Singh, Subash Singh Bisht, Lokjan, and Deepak, all labourers in apple orchards in the area. None of them was among those who figured in the CM’s Facebook post.

Two months later, as the 16-year-old’s rape and killing, along with the custodial death of one of the accused, Suraj Singh, continues to roil the state, whispers about a “cover-up” refuse to die down. That’s the one narrative that resurfaces in conversations with the families of both the victim and the accused — “police are trying to save a few influential accused” and that those in custody have been “framed”.

On August 29, the CBI arrested eight police officers, including IGP Zaidi, who were part of the SIT probing the case, in connection with the custodial death. The arrests of the police officers have only served to strengthen the “cover-up”theory. Many of them point to the CM’s Facebook post when asked why they suspect foul play.

“The timing of the post was such that everyone latched on to it. It had been only a few days since the incident was reported and everyone was waiting for some clue. If some information from the official page of the CM is being posted, people will take it seriously. This, coupled with the election fever, meant that the controversy never died down. All this gave the impression that police are trying to save someone, though there isn’t any proof of this so far,” said an official at the district administration.

The 16-year-old’s body was found in the Halaila forests of Mahasu in the apple-rich Kotkhai area, 56 km from Shimla, on July 6, two days after she went missing on her way back from school. A case was registered the same day and the SIT formed on July 10. The postmortem report had confirmed rape and death by strangulation, and revealed that she had deep injuries all over her face and body. When the case was first filed on July 6, the first investigating officers indicated to the media that “rich and influential men” from the area were involved. The Facebook post from the CM’s official handle on July 12 added to that impression. However, those named in the post pleaded their innocence on social media, with some even approaching police for protection.

On July 19, six days after the six accused were arrested on July 13 for allegedly raping and murdering the girl, Suraj Singh, 29, died in custody, triggering protests that saw locals in the area setting the police station on fire and the case being handed over to the CBI. “The person I wanted to speak out for is not here anymore. What’s the point now?” asks Mamta Singh, 24, Suraj Singh’s wife who now stays with her two children in a government home for women in Mashobra. Mamta rubbishes reports that claim her husband, a Nepalese national, admitted to the crime after being offered money to do so. “I kept telling people that he was innocent but they went ahead and spread the rumour that he had taken money to admit to the crime. We are simple people who came here to earn money. Suraj is being defamed even in death,” she says.

The coming Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh have meant that allegations that the ruling Congress is trying to save “influential people” refuse to die down. The state has never seen the same party return to power in consecutive terms and the present controversy has hit the party’s image, with the opposition BJP and the CPM demanding the CM’s resignation.“It is a serious and sensitive issue, and should not be politicised. But, the manner in which the government has handled it… the credibility of the police has eroded completely. The government was forced to refer the case to the CBI. The family members of the victim are deeply hurt by the attempts of the police to frame innocent people in false cases to save the real culprits,” says former CM and senior BJP leader PK Dhumal. Congress leaders, however, rubbished the allegations.

“The chief minister has made every effort to ensure a fair probe. He ordered a CBI inquiry and the government has always assisted the investigators. To say that the government is trying to shield someone is only giving credence to meaningless rumours,” says a senior Himachal Congress leader who did not want to be named. Himachal Police officers, meanwhile, are tightlipped about the case. “The entire matter is with the CBI now and we have given them all the information that we had. The case files with the investigation details are being perused by them and we are not in the loop anymore,” says a senior police officer.

In the small two-storey wooden house, which has its BPL card number painted on the wall outside, the family of the 16-year-old is struggling to make sense of their loss. “She loved watching television. She also loved to dance and would practise all the new moves she saw on TV for hours. She had joined her new school only 42 days before she was killed. She never complained of anyone stalking or harassing her. I would keep asking her if she was comfortable in her new school,” she says.

Sitting in a corner of the room, the girl’s father, who owns a small piece of land on which he grows apples, seethes at the mention of compensation. “I will not sell my daughter, dead or alive. The money is of no use to me,” he says about the Rs 7 lakh compensation given to him by the government and the Red Cross Society.

“I only want the culprits to be brought to justice and I don’t think that has happened so far,” he says.