Dissatisfied with the CBI probe in Kotkhai rape-murder case in Shimla district in which a 16-year-old girl was raped and killed, the victim’s parents on Thursday filed a petition in the Himachal Pradesh High Court to seek justice for their daughter.

The victim’s father said the gruesome act couldn’t be committed by a single person as was being claimed by the CBI.

“We have seen the body and the way, our daughter was tortured with burnt marks all over her body, it can’t be the handiwork of single person,” he claimed.

He said Anil alias Nilu, a woodcutter arrested by the CBI for the gruesome rape and murder, might be involved in the case but the crime was committed by some other persons.

He suspected that some drug addicts may be involved in the rape and murder case as was being claimed by HP police in its investigation and claimed that CBI officials, too, initially had said that four persons may be involved in the crime.

“The CBI didn’t present the Narco test report of the five accused, who were arrested by HP police, in the court which raises further suspicion on impartiality of the probe. We just want justice for our daughter and it is the reason that we are filing a petition in High Court to seek re-investigation in the case so that real culprits could be caught,” he said.

“It’s been three years since my daughter was brutally raped and killed but still my daughter hasn’t got justice,” the victim’s mother said, adding that it was the reason they had moved High Court.

The victim girl, a Class 10 student, had gone missing while returning home from school on 4 July 2017 in Kotkhai area of Shimla district and her body was found in the forest on 6 July with multiple injuries on her body.

The incident had led to wide public outrage, forcing the state government to constitute a SIT which had arrested six persons, Ashish Chauhan, Rajender Singh alias Raju, Deepak, Subhash Singh Bisht, Suraj and Lokjan on 12 and 13 July.

The cops had allegedly tortured the accused to confess that they were involved in rape and murder which resulted in the death of Suraj on the intervening night of 18-19 July.

The case was then transferred to the CBI by HP High Court and the investigating agency had arrested Nilu on 15 April 2018, claiming it was he who had committed the gruesome act.

However, the parents weren’t convinced with the probe and are now fighting for reinvestigation in the case.

Eight members of Special Investigation Team (SIT) were also arrested for the custodial death of Suraj for which trial is going on in a CBI court at Chandigarh.