Vimal Negi death case | Apart from Shimla SSP, other SIT members joined probe: CBI to HC

In a 30-page reply submitting in the court of Justice Virender Singh of Himachal Pradesh high court on October 14, the CBI Informed that certain members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was constituted by the Shimla police for probing the case, have joined the CBI investigation in Delhi but SSP Shimla is yet to join despite being summoned thrice. The court has reserved its order on the matter.

CBI DSP Brijendra Prasad Singh in his reply said SIT in-charge ASP Navdeep Singh Virk, members DSP Vikram Chauhan, inspector Manoj Thakur, head constable Lalit Kumar have joined the CBI investigation at New Delhi.

The CBI also justified summoning the SIT members to its Delhi police saying that the FIR in the case was registered with its Special Crime Branch-I at New Delhi, which possesses all-India jurisdiction to investigate such cases. The CBI stated, “It’s Delhi office is equipped with specialised infrastructure and advanced digital forensics facilities, which are crucial for processing and analysing electronic evidence collected during the investigation.”

Raising finger over the police probe, CBI informed, “Accused ASI Pankaj Sharma had formatted the pen-drive of victim Vimal Negi in the official computer at Sadar police station Shimla but despite knowing this fact, the SIT didn’t seize the computer, which was later seized by the CBI.” The agency added in its re-joinder that its camp office in Shimla lacks certain capabilities necessary to handle the complex digital data associated with the case, and hence, the examination of witnesses in New Delhi was both “procedurally justified and logistically essential.”