CBI cracks Kotkhai rape case

New Delhi: The CBI has cracked the nine-month old rape and murder case of a teenaged girl in Kotkhai area of Shimla, arresting a 25-year old Himachal resident whose DNA sample matched with the genetic material found at the crime scene, officials said here today. The virtually blind rape and murder case of the girl had become a political rallying point in poll-bound Himachal Pradesh when the body of the girl was found in the forests of Kotkhai area in July last year. 

The local police had arrested some suspects but the CBI probe exonerated them as they had come clean during lie detector tests. The agency has now arrested one Anil Kumar whose DNA sample showed 100 per cent match with the genetic material recovered from the body of the victim and the crime scene, they said.

The suspect is a Himachal Pradesh resident but was from a different area and was in hiding after the crime, they said.  A 16-year-old girl had gone missing while returning from school on July 4, 2017 from Haliala forest in Kotkhai area of Shimla district. Her naked body was found in the forest on July 6 and the postmortem report confirmed rape.