Shimla, Oct 24: Forensic tests have failed to establish the involvement of the accused in the case of rape cum-murder of a minor girl that rocked Himachal Pradesh earlier this year, potentially calling into question the functioning of the police in the poll-bound state.
Three separate tests were conducted on the five accused at the behest of the Central Bureau of Investigation, people aware of the matter told ET. However, the tests could not establish any “direct involvement” of the accused in the heinous crime, they said.
The CBI is probing the case of the 16-year-old girl who had gone missing from Haliala forest in Kotkhai area of Shimla district on July 4. Her naked body was found in the forest two days later and the postmortem confirmed that she had been raped before being murdered.
While all the accused were made to undergo narco analysis and polygraph tests, only four of the five accused could undergo brain mapping test, known as brain electrical oscillation signature, the people said. The CBI had approached a premier forensic science laboratory to carry out forensic tests on the five accused.
The outcome of a narco analysis test is not admissible in a court of law but an investigative agency can utilise it to obtain further evidence. The CBI had also arrested Himachal Pradesh Police officers, including an inspector general of police for the custodial death of a suspect in the case.
Significantly, the DNA samples collected from those allegedly involved in the gang rape and murder case had reportedly not matched with the forensic evidence collected from the scene of crime. The locals had protested against the state police alleging a cover-up.
Source Economic Times
