Chandigarh CBI officer named as lead investigator in Kolkata rape-murder

A decorated woman CBI officer posted in Chandigarh, with a proven track record of solving complex cases, has been named as the lead investigator in the Kolkata trainee doctor rape and murder case.
Seema Pahuja, 57, currently posted as additional superintendent of police (ASP), has led investigations into several high-profile cases, including 2017 Kotkhai rape and murder (also called ‘Gudiya case’), and been key member of the probe teams in 2020 Hathras gangrape and 2017 Unnao rape cases.
Pahuja is currently in Kolkata and has taken charge of the investigation.
Pahuja, who holds a BCom degree, joined the agency in 1988 and became a sub-inspector in 1993. She was promoted to the rank of deputy superintendent of police in 2013, and finally became an ASP in 2022.
A recipient of the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Services in 2021, Seema is known for strong skills in psychoanalysing witnesses.
“She keeps clinging to her cases, ensuring that no detail is overlooked. Her focus is always on securing a robust case for court conviction and logical conclusion,” remarked one of her senior colleagues in the CBI.
One of her most notable achievements was securing the conviction in the Kotkhai case that grabbed headlines. The victim, a class 10 girl, went missing while returning from school and her body was discovered two days later. She was brutally raped and strangled. The state police had failed to solve the sensational crime, and finally the case was transferred to the CBI after outcry.
The breakthrough in the case came when Pahuja employed a novel technique called lineage testing—a method used for the first time in India—to extract a chromosome from the victim’s body. This crucial piece of evidence led investigators to the clan of the alleged rapist in Kangra and eventually to the perpetrator, Anil Kumar, a woodcutter. Of the 14 key pieces of evidence produced by the CBI, 12 were found to be damning against the accused, leading to his life imprisonment.
Pahuja’s investigation was also instrumental in the 2017 Unnao rape case, which involved BJP leader and local MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. Sengar was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the gangrape of a 17-year-old Dalit girl. The case garnered national attention, leading to Sengar’s expulsion from the BJP.
Pahuja also played a significant role in investigating the Hathras gangrape case, which triggered widespread outrage. The victim, a 19-year-old girl, was allegedly assaulted by four men from an upper caste. She later succumbed to her injuries in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital.
Another key case handled by Pahuja was the one involving Jharkhand national-level shooter Ranjit Singh Kohli, alias Raquib-ul-Hassan. Kohli was found guilty of torturing his wife (also a national-level shooter) Tara Shahdeo. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.