The 56-year-old Colonel arrested the previous day for allegedly raping a fellow officer’s adopted daughter was on Thursday remanded to three-day police custody by a local court even as the girl, in her statement recorded under section 164 of the CrPC, reiterated her charges against him. Shimla Superintendent of Police Soumya Sambasivan said a medical examination of the girl had been done, but because of some doubts on the report and the findings, the matter had now been referred to the state’s Forensic Science Lab (FSL). “The girl, in an FIR lodged on November 21, had stated that beside the accused Colonel, there was also another person at his house. Today, she modified her version and we have accordingly amended the FIR. As per her new statement, there was no third person at Colonel’s house where the alleged incident happened,” the SP said. Meanwhile, the police have taken into custody the mobile phones of the girl and the Colonel to analyse their locations and call details. After the Colonel’s arrest on Wednesday, the police had examined his WhatsApp posts and call details, which reportedly established that the girl had sent him photographs and some messages. In her complaint, the 21-year-old girl, who is an aspiring model, has said that her father, a Lieutenant Colonel at the Army Training Command (ARTRAC), was called for a party at the ADC club on November 19, where she had met the accused officer. On being told that she was an aspiring model, the Colonel assured her help saying he had some connections in Mumbai. The next day, the Colonel called her father and asked him to send some photographs of her on WhatsApp, which she did. As per her police complaint, on November 20, she was called by the accused Colonel to his house near Lakkar Bazar in Shimla, where he promised to get her introduced to some people who could help her in the modelling career. But when she reached the Colonel’s house, he quickly bolted the door and raped her. He also allegedly forced her to drink liquor. Thereafter, she fell unconscious. “I later realised he (Colonel) had done something wrong,” she told the police on November 21. She also alleged that being a superior officer, the Colonel had also threatened to spoil her father’s career if the matter was reported to the police. The police said the girl was brought to the police station by her father, who endorsed her statement and also named the accused Colonel, narrating his entire conversation with him a day before relating to his daughter. Himachal Director General of Police Somesh Goyal said the victim, in her statement given under 164 of the CrPC, had alleged rape having been committed under intoxication of liquor. “The facts of the case look a little complicated. The police are doing the investigations using foolproof scientific tools,” he said. The Lt Colonel, as per police, lives with his adopted daughter while his wife does not live with him. “We are looking into the adoption details also as some investigations will also be required into this aspect,” said the DGP. The girl and her father hail from Haryana while the accused Colonel hails from Punjab.
