Shimla: The gruesome rape and murder of the 16-year girl from Kotkhai that shook the state has even attracted the attention of AICC vice- president Rahul Gandhi, who has sought a detailed report from HPCC on the incident.

Shimla: The gruesome rape and murder of the 16-year girl from Kotkhai that shook the state has even attracted the attention of AICC vice- president Rahul Gandhi, who has sought a detailed report from HPCC on the incident.

It was yesterday that Rahul asked HPCC president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu to provide details of the incident. “Rahulji is concerned about the incident and wanted to know how it happened and the follow-up action and the latest status of the case,” confirmed Sukhu.

Sukhu also revealed that as desired by Rahul, a detailed report had been sent to him. A Class XI girl went missing while returning home from school on July 4. It was two days later that her body was recovered from a forest. Though a police case was registered, initial tardy police response and confusion over the identity of the suspects made the public doubt the investigations.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to order the CBI to take over the investigations so that the guilty were brought to justice. “The state police have been able to get some leads and a few arrests made but given the gravity of the unfortunate incident, it is better if the case is handled by the CBI,” he wrote in his letter.

Principal Secretary (Home) Prabodh Saxena had also written a letter to the Principal Secretary, Home, and Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), and to the Director, CBI, on July 14. He had urged them to direct the CBI to take over the case so that the case property and the related documents could be handed over to the CBI.

The incident led to unprecedented public outcry and indignation among society. The crowd held a massive protest outside Theog police station, even going on a rampage damaging police and district administration vehicles. Succumbing to public pressure, the government chose to hand over the inquiry to the CBI.