Himachal Pradesh High Court transfers Vimal Negi death probe to CBI citing flawed police investigation

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], May 23 (ANI): The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Friday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the mysterious death of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) engineer Vimal Negi, following a petition filed by his wife.
The court's decision came after growing concerns over the integrity of the state police investigation and allegations of foul play.
Vimal Negi, a senior engineer with HPPCL, had gone missing on March 10, and his body was recovered on March 18 under suspicious circumstances. The post-mortem report indicated that he had died around five days prior to the recovery of his body.
However, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the state police, failed to provide any clarity about his whereabouts between March 10 and 14, raising serious questions about the credibility of the investigation.
Advocate R.K. Bawa, representing the Negi family, expressed satisfaction with the High Court's decision, saying:
"From the very first day, the family had been saying that we were not satisfied with the investigation. The court has now transferred the matter to the CBI. Even the Director General of Police of the state expressed dissatisfaction with the SIT's investigation in court. We raised concerns that the probe was neither transparent nor fair. The investigation officer did not submit crucial materials to the court. Even the report of the Additional Chief Secretary, which highlighted misconduct by certain officials and included names, was never placed in the public domain," Rawa said.
The court observed that the SIT investigation appeared biased and incomplete. It questioned why no investigation had been conducted into the five-day gap in Negi's disappearance and also noted irregularities in the treatment of suspects and witnesses. The report submitted by the Additional Chief Secretary, Omkar Sharma, on April 8, also corroborated several concerns raised by the family, but a copy of the report was never provided to them.
Rajender Negi, the maternal uncle of Vimal Negi and a retired Army captain, also welcomed the court's move.
"We are happy with the High Court's decision. This will ensure a proper and fair investigation. We never trusted the SIT or the state government. The DGP himself had expressed dissatisfaction with the probe. What was being termed a suicide is not suicide. It's a murder orchestrated by officials of HPPCL. The post-mortem report said he drowned, but the truth is, he was drowned, this was a planned murder. The accused were never questioned, while our family was harassed and our financial and health records were scrutinized. We have complete faith in the judiciary and the CBI to deliver justice," he said.
Surinder Negi, Vimal Negi's brother, echoed these sentiments, expressing deep frustration over the police investigation and hope that the CBI would uncover the truth.
"We never had faith in the government or the SIT. From day one, we demanded a CBI investigation. We believe this is not a case of suicide but murder. They tried to suppress a lot of evidence. The DGP and SP were contradicting each other publicly. Instead of investigating the accused, they investigated us. They even looked into our property records. But the Managing Director and Director of Personnel were not even questioned. We believe justice will now be served," Surinder Negi said.
Following Vimal Negi's disappearance, the then Director of HPPCL Deshraj, the Managing Director, and the Director of Personnel were named in an FIR by Shimla Police after protests by the family and HPPCL employees.
However, due to continued dissatisfaction with the police investigation, the Himachal Pradesh government formed a committee earlier under Additional Chief Secretary Omkar Sharma to investigate the matter and report within 15 days.
Despite this, no substantial progress was made, and even when the accused applied for bail in the Supreme Court, the state government reportedly failed to represent itself. The High Court took note of these omissions, highlighting the lack of seriousness in the investigation.
With the case now handed over to the CBI, the Negi family, supported by widespread public sentiment and demands for justice, hopes that a transparent and impartial investigation will finally uncover the truth behind Vimal Negi's death. (ANI)