Himachal Pradesh govt trying to derail Kotkhai rape and murder case, alleges BJP

Shimla: Himachal Pradesh BJP leaders on Thursday accused the Virbhadra Singh government of trying to “derail” investigations into the Kotkhai rape and murder case to “save the real culprits”. The party also sought the resignation of the government on the issue. [caption id=“attachment_3995769” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The latest developments in the investigation into the case has exposed the virtual absence of governance, leading to loss of faith of the people and the civil society in the government, Union Health Minister JP Nadda alleged. The intention behind constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) by the state government was to ensure fair and impartial probe, but its conduct has come under cloud, he claimed. “Though the investigation is underway and the matter is subjudice, the actual culprits of the dastardly act are yet to be nabbed. The arrest of the complete SIT by the CBI is not something routine…it shows that officers sitting at the top tried to influence and give a twist to the direction of this case,” Nadda said. The minister’s remarks come after the CBI on Tuesday arrested the inspector-general of the Himachal Pradesh police, Zahur Haidar Zaidi, and seven other policemen in connection with the custodial death of an accused in a rape case. He said that the entire BJP state unit had been demanding a fair and unbiased probe into the case, and had echoed the sentiments of the people. “The entire tenure of the present government is synonymous to nepotism, corruption and inefficiency, and now towards its fag end, things have gone from bad to worse,” the minister said. The chief minister and the party are at loggerheads, andbusy making a beeline in Delhi rather than caring for minimal governance for which they have been mandated, he claimed. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and BJP leader PK Dhumal alleged that the very purpose of constituting the SIT was to give a “twist” to the probe and “save” the real culprits. “Virbhadra Singh has pushed the state into morass of crime and there has been spurt in incidents of heinous crimes due to protection given by the government to criminals and he must resign, and pave the way for a fresh assembly polls in the state,” he said, adding “the sooner he quits the government, better it would be for the state”. Dhumal said that the chief minister has no right to remain in power and he should resign in view of the arrests by the CBI. Accusing the chief minister for misusing the police to serve his vested interests, he said that the rape and murder case had “sullied” the image of the entire police force. “It is unfortunate that the chief minister not only misled the Assembly and the people, but also patted the SIT for good work,” he said. “To derail the probe, it has become a habit of the chief minister to give clean chit to culprits even before the investigations are completed, and in this case also, efforts were made to twist the facts to save the real culprits,” Dhumal said in a statement. Meanwhile, BJP MP from Hamirpur Anurag Thakur demanded the resignation of Singh on the issue. State BJP chief Satpal Singh Satti and chief party spokesman Rajiv Bindal have also accused the government of trying to save the culprits by implicating the wrong people in the case.