CBI: DNA test leads to Kotkhai rape suspect

A 25-year-old man was arrested for raping a teenaged girl in Himachal Pradesh after a forensic test matched his DNA sample with the genetic material found at the crime scene, the CBI said on Wednesday.

The rape of the teenaged girl became an issue during the last Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls after the BJP raised the issue. Initially, the local police had arrested some people but the CBI cleared their names after lie detector tests.

The CBI investigation led to Anil Kumar whose DNA sample showed 100% match with the genetic material recovered from the body of the victim and the crime scene.

The 16-year-old girl had gone missing while returning from school on July 4, 2017, from Kotkhai area of Shimla district. Her naked body was found in the forest on July 6 and the postmortem report confirmed rape.

The CBI had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh to the public for providing credible information resulting in the arrest of real culprits. It also formed separate teams who worked for the last nine months to crack the case.

"The team started by thoroughly combing the various areas including forests where the body of the victim was found and questioned over 1,000 people in this sparsely populated region. The CBI team collected around 250 blood samples and its CFSL experts conducted various scientific tests including DNA profiling by using advanced techniques of 'percentage match' and 'lineage match'," a CBI spokesperson said.

After thorough examining of these scientific tests, he said, the DNA profiles extracted from samples seized from the scene of the crime were matched with the DNA samples.

CBI teams had gone to Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand as well. After zeroing in on Kumar, investigators found out that he was not carrying a mobile phone and was not in touch with his family. However, the CBI team kept a watch on some people whom he could call from public phones or phones of the other people.

"Subsequently, the suspect was tracked and apprehended from a village near Hatkoti in Shimla district," the spokesperson said.