Shimla, Jan 27 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh government on Friday revoked the suspension of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Z H Zaidi, an accused in the custodial death of a suspect in the Kotkhai rape-and-murder case.
A notification to this effect was issued by the Department of Home and Zaidi has been directed to report at the police headquarters. His posting orders will be issued separately.
Zaidi was among nine police personnel arrested in connection with the custodial death of Suraj, who was a suspect in the rape and murder of a school girl in the Kotkhai area of Shimla.
The minor girl had gone missing from Kotkhai on July 4, 2017, and her body was found in the nearby Halaila forests two days later. The autopsy had confirmed rape and murder. Following a public outcry, a special investigation team (SIT), headed by IGP Zaidi, was set up.
Suraj, an accused, died at the Kotkhai police station on the intervening night of July 18 and 19, 2017. After the custodial death, the case was handed over to the CBI.
Earlier, Zaidi was reinstated in November 2019 after he was released on bail on April 5, 2019.
However, on January 8, 2020, Superintendent of Police P Soumya Sambasivan, a prosecution witness in the custodial death case, told a CBI court that Zaidi had been trying to contact her over phone since September 2019 and that she was being pressured by him to change her statement in the custodial death case, following which the court directed the state government to take action against him.
A departmental enquiry was instituted and Zaidi was suspended.
Zaidi was granted a regular bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in October 2022. PTI BPL SMN SMN