In a setback to the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress authorities, the excessive court docket on Friday transferred the probe into the current loss of life of Himachal Pradesh Energy Company Restricted (HPPCL) chief engineer-cum-general supervisor Vimal Negi from the state police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Himachal Pradesh Energy Company Restricted (HPPCL) chief engineer-cum-general supervisor Vimal Negi went lacking on March 10 and his physique was recovered from Bhakra Dam in Bilaspur on March 18. (HT file picture)
Announcing the order, the Himachal Pradesh excessive court docket bench of Ajay Mohan Goel directed the CBI to take over the probe from the state police’s particular investigation staff (SIT), led by Shimla SP Sanjeev Gandhi. The excessive court docket ordered that no HP-cadre officer ought to be hooked up with the CBI staff for a good investigation.
An in depth copy of the judgement is awaited.
Negi went lacking on March 10 and his physique was recovered from Bhakra Dam in Bilaspur on March 18. His relations sat on a dharna outdoors the HPPCL workplace in Shimla along with his physique the subsequent day, demanding a CBI inquiry however the state authorities remained adamant on not accepting their plea. Kiran Negi, the deceased’s spouse, moved the excessive court docket looking for the CBI probe.
The SIT was constituted after the case of abetment to suicide was registered on March 22 in Shimla on Kiran Negi’s grievance that prime HPPCL officers, together with director (electrical) Desh Raj, had been harassing her husband.
The petitioner’s advocate, RK Bawa, stated, “Kiran was not satisfied with the SIT’s probe from Day 1. Accepting our plea, the court has directed that no Himachal-cadre officer will be part of the CBI investigation. The government failed to act on additional chief secretary, home, Onkar Chand’s report in which he indicted officers accused by the family of misbehaviour. The government withheld his report,” Bawa stated. “The SIT was biased and only looked into the medical history of the victim,” he added.
Reacting to the order, state advocate normal Anup Rattan, stated: “We are not averse to investigation by any party. The probe being carried out by our state police officials was fair and transparent. Our goal is justice. We won’t be filing an appeal (against the order)”.
The excessive court docket order got here two days after state director normal of police Atul Verma raised questions concerning the SIT’s impartiality in probing Vimal Negi’s loss of life. The DGP stated {that a} pen drive was recovered from Vimal Negi’s pocket on March 18, however was hidden by an assistant sub inspector of police and even formatted. In his standing report, the DGP stated: “This is a serious misconduct on the part of the SIT as a pen drive, presumably found on the body of the deceased, containing crucial evidence has been tampered with or destroyed after recovery.”
“It can be safely concluded that it has been a questionable investigation till now and influence/attempted influence of the Shimla SP, who has been posted for more than two years in this posts, seems to have extended beyond his domain,” the DGP stated in an affidavit filed within the court docket as a part of the standing report that was made public on Wednesday.