HPPCL chief engineer’s death: Himachal DGP and Shimla SP not on same page, notes HC

On Wednesday, the single-judge bench of Justice Ajay Mohan Goel raised concerns over indiscipline within the police department, as reflected in the conflicting versions presented in the two affidavits related to the same matter.

Advocate General (AG) Anup Kumar Rattan, representing the state government and prosecution, informed the court that a missing pen drive belonging to Negi had been recovered from Assistant Sub-Inspector Pankaj of the Bilaspur district police. He further stated that the SIT under SP Gandhi had retrieved erased data from the device.

The AG also submitted that DGP Verma had filed his affidavit directly in court on Monday without informing the Advocate General’s office. Similarly, he pointed out that Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Onkar Sharma, in his fact-finding report, had noted that Negi was subjected to “misbehaviour” by certain senior HPPCL officers. This report, too, was submitted to the court without prior intimation to the AG’s office.

“I made it clear to the court on the issue of differences in the affidavits…that the whole motive behind these affidavits is to make the investigation impartial. Even the affidavit of ACS Onkar Sharma points out misbehaviour attitude on the part of senior officers of deceased Vimal Negi. Every authority in the state is working to provide justice to the family of Vimal Negi. I informed the court that there is no differences between the affidavits of DGP and SP Shimla. The court has reserved the order for Friday,” AG Rattan said.

Later, when the media asked AG Rattan about the court’s observation of indiscipline, he said, “The court was of the belief that internal differences in any of the department should only be confined to the department. These should not come to the court.”

SP Gandhi has submitted his affidavit along with the status report in the court on Tuesday.

Senior Advocate R K Bawa, representing Negi’s family, who are demanding a CBI probe, said, “We highlighted the discrepancies between the affidavits submitted by the DGP and the SP in the investigation into Vimal Negi’s death. We have been pointing out that the investigation is not proceeding in the right direction. The court has taken note of certain facts. The order has been reserved for Friday.”

Following Negi’s death, a case of abetment to suicide was registered at the New Shimla police station based on a complaint filed by his wife Kiran. She later approached the high court, seeking a transfer of the investigation to the CBI.