Court questions state govt's 'failure' to act on ACS report

Court orders no HP-cadre official should be attached with CBI team to ensure fair investigation

- Shailee Dogra

SHIMLA: In a setback to the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government, the high court on Friday transferred the probe into the recent death of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) chief engineer-cum-general manager Vimal Negi from the state police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Pronouncing the order, the Himachal Pradesh high court bench of Ajay Mohan Goel directed the CBI to take over the probe from the state police's special investigation team (SIT), led by Shimla SP Sanjeev Gandhi. The high court ordered that no HP-cadre officer should be attached with the CBI team for a fair investigation.

"In the course of the investigation, the CBI shall ensure that no officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre shall be a part of the special investigation team that may be constituted for investigation. This court hopes and expects that the CBI shall carry out the investigation impartially and as expeditiously as possible," ruled the court.

Vimal Negi went missing on March 10 and his body was recovered from Bhakra Dam in Bilaspur on March 18. His family members sat on a dharna outside the HPPCL office in Shimla with his body the next day, demanding a CBI inquiry but the state government remained adamant on not accepting their plea. Kiran Negi, the deceased's wife, moved the high court seeking a CBI probe.

The SIT was constituted after the case of abetment to suicide was registered on March 22 in Shimla on Kiran Negi's complaint that top HPPCL officials, including director (electrical) Desh Raj, had been harassing her husband.