Shimla: In a new twist to the Kotkhai rape and murder case, the main suspect, Rajender Singh (32), alias Raju (driver of a pick-up van), allegedly killed another suspect in the case, Suraj, by smashing his head on the floor in Kotkhai jail late Tuesday night.
Suraj, a Nepalese labourer, was one of the suspects in the case. The police said that both the accused had a scuffle over some issue late Tuesday night.
The police have sought a judicial probe into the death. I G Southern Ranger Z H Zaidi confirmed the death of the suspect.
Suraj had reportedly given the sequence of the crime to the police and blamed the pick-up van driver Raju for the entire incident, following which both had a fight late last night and Raju allegedly banged Suraj’s head on the floor, which proved fatal for him, the police said.
Suraj was immediately rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead, they said. The incident has put the police in a tight spot, who were already facing public wrath for the past one week for alleged tardy progress in the investigations.
Also, the murder of one of the accused in police custody by another accused has put a question mark on the functioning of the police, who have no explanation as to why both of them were kept in the same lockup.