Senior BJP leader P K Dhumal on Sunday blamed the "callous attitude" of the police in handling the Kotkhai schoolgirl rape and murder case for escalation of protests across Himachal Pradesh. The former chief minister said the police lack people's trust for which the case has been handed over to the CBI. Asserting that the Congress government in the state was committing one mistake after another in handling the case, he said its decision to upgrade and name a school in Dhar after the real name of the rape victim was "obnoxious" and in violation of the directions of the Supreme Court. Dhumal said he would visit the family members of the victim at Kotkhai on Monday. Meanwhile, the CBI, which registered two cases in connection with the rape and murder of the minor girl and custodial death of one of the accused, held discussions with state police officials and also perused the case file which was handed over to it under the directions of the High Court. A Class 10 student was allegedly raped and murdered in Kotkhai area of Shimla district on July 4 after she took a lift on a vehicle driven by one of the accused Rajender. The body of the victim was recovered from the nearby Halila forest two days later. Six persons were arrested in connection with the case.
