Kotkhai custodial death case: Witness constable seeks protection, inquiry outside Himachal

In a letter submitted before the Member Secretary, Competent Authority, Chandigarh Witness Protection Scheme, 2024, Constable Dinesh Kumar said he was on duty at Kotkhai police station on July 18, 2017, when Suraj Singh died in custody.

Kumar said he gave his true statement in the case before the CBI Court, Chandigarh. He said that following his statement, eight persons, including an IGP, were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

He further said he had been suspended from service on a false ground. The ground given for his suspension, he claimed, was a complaint said to have been made by him at Lok Bhavan.

Kumar said he had never made any complaint, written or oral, at Lok Bhavan, and had only made a humanitarian call seeking help as his son is disabled and he was being transferred repeatedly.

He alleged that the DGP’s office had wrongly treated the humanitarian call as a complaint and that his suspension order was based on this false ground. He alleged that on June 9, 2026, he was called into the chamber of the SSP and threatened.

Kumar said he did not have faith that any officer appointed by the DGP, even from another district or range, would conduct a free and fair inquiry.

He sought an inquiry by an authority completely outside the Himachal Pradesh Police, including the CBI, which had already investigated the case, Chandigarh Police, a retired District Judge or a Special Investigation Team formed by the High Court.

He also sought Category-A witness protection.

A 16-year-old girl had gone missing in Kotkhai, Himachal Pradesh, on July 4, 2017, and her body was found in the forests two days later, on July 6. Amid a huge public outcry in the state, a Special Investigating Team (SIT) was constituted.

The CBI claimed that the SIT arrested six persons, including Suraj, on July 13, 2017, in the absence of any evidence. A team of police officers allegedly tortured Suraj to extract confessional statements for their involvement.

Due to injuries, Suraj died on the night of July 18, 2017, at Kotkhai police station, Shimla. After the custodial death of Suraj, the Himachal Pradesh High Court handed over the investigations of both cases to the CBI.