Chandigarh, August 21: The principal investigator in the murder and rape of a trainee doctor in Kolkata is a renowned woman CBI officer posted in Chandigarh who has a track record of resolving challenging cases.
CBI officer Seema Pahuja
Seema Pahuja,57, is currently employed as an additional superintendent of police (ASP). She has headed investigations into a number of well-known crimes, such as the 2017 Kotkhai rape and murder case, commonly known as the “Gudiya case.” She has also played a significant role in the 2020 Hathras gangrape case and the 2017 Unnao rape case.
Pahuja has assumed responsibility for the probe and is presently in Kolkata.
Pahuja a BCom degree holder joined the agency in 1988 and rose to the rank of sub-inspector in 1993, 2013 saw her advance to the position of deputy superintendent of police (DSP), and in 2014 she attained the title of ASP.
Seema, who was awarded the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Services in 2021, is renowned for her prowess in witness psychoanalysis.
She never let’s go of her cases, making sure that no detail is missed. One of her top CBI colleagues said, “Her focus is always on securing a strong case for court conviction and logical conclusion.”
One of her most noteworthy accomplishments was securing the conviction in the Kotkhai case that grabbed headlines. The victim, a girl in class 10, vanished on her way home from school, and her body was found after a couple of days. She was strangled and viciously raped. After much protest, the case was finally moved to the CBI by the state police, who had been unable to solve the dramatic crime.
The case took a significant turn when Pahuja removed a chromosome from the victim’s body using a cutting-edge procedure called lineage testing, which was applied first time in India. This vital piece of information helped detectives identify the suspected rapist’s clan in Kangra and ultimately identify the offender, Anil Kumar, a woodcutter getting him a life sentence.
In addition, Pahuja was instrumental in the investigation of the Hathras gangrape case, which caused a great deal of public anger. The 19-year-old female victim was allegedly beaten by four guys who belonged to a higher caste. Later on, in Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, she passed away from the injuries she had suffered.
In the 2017 Unnao rape case involving BJP politician and local MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, Pahuja’s probe played a crucial role. Sengar was found guilty of gangraping a 17-year-old Dalit girl was given a life sentence. Due of the case’s widespread media coverage, Sengar was kicked out of the BJP.