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Journalism of Courage
On Tuesday, the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Himachal Pradesh government sent three senior officers Director General of Police (DGP) Atul Verma, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Onkar Sharma, and Shimla Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjeev Gandhi on leave with immediate effect. Simultaneously, show-cause notices were issued to DGP Verma and SP Gandhi, asking why disciplinary proceedings should not be initiated against them.
The arguably unprecedented development in the history of Himachal Pradesh followed an investigation into the alleged abetment to suicide of Vimal Negi, 55, a Chief Engineer with Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL). The BJP has been mounting pressure on the Congress government since Negi’s body was found near Bhakra Dam in Bilaspur on March 18, after remaining missing for eight days, linking it to alleged irregularities in a project being overseen by the Chief Engineer.
Negi, a graduate of National Institute of Technology NIT, Hamirpur, was transferred in June last year from the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd to HPPCL in Shimla, as Chief Engineer. He was overseeing the commissioning of the 32MW Pekhubela Solar Power Project in Una district, inaugurated by Sukhu, and being built at a cost of Rs 220 crore.
On March 10, Negi left the HPPCL office in New Shimla, and went missing. His wife Kiran suspected foul play and approached senior officials, including the CM, for help. Sukhu asked DGP Verma to investigate the matter. Eight days later, on March 18, Negi’s body was found, and protests erupted.
Placing his body outside the HPPCL office, the protesters demanded the suspension of top officials of the power corporation, including Director (Electrical) Desh Raj, Managing Director Harikesh Meena, and Director (Finance) Shivam Pratap Singh. An FIR for abetment to suicide was lodged by Kiran Negi. Although Kiran named Desh Raj and Meena in her complaint, police lodged the FIR against unknown people, mentioning only the names of Desh Raj and the designation of in the summary of the FIR.
Negi’s disappearance on March 10 coincided with the start of the 18-day Budget Session of the Himachal Assembly. The BJP stepped up its protests after his body was found eight days later.
On March 19, as the protesters sat with Negi’s body outside the HPPCL office, BJP top leaders joined them. This prompted Sukhu to send his Cabinet colleagues to pacify the crowd.
The same day, the government suspended Desh Raj, transferred Harikesh Meena, and relieved Shivam Pratap Singh of his duties. Sukhu also ordered a fact-finding inquiry by ACS Sharma. Simultaneously, an SIT under SP Gandhi was formed to investigate the case.
Leader of the Opposition and former CM Jairam Thakur demanded a CBI probe, linking Negi’s death to alleged irregularities in the Pekhubela Solar Power Project and “pressure” on the officer to ignore the same, asking that Sukhu clarify the matter.
Sukhu countered the BJP’s allegations, saying he was doing everything he could to find the truth, including setting up the police team that recovered the body, and accused the Opposition of “politicizing the death of a brillinat and honest officer”.
Dissatisfied with the government measures, Kiran Negi approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court, demanding that the probe be transferred to the CBI. The Court of Justice Ajay Mohan Goel issued notices to Sharma, DGP Verma, and SP Gandhi for status reports on the case, with their affidavits.
In his affidavit, ACS Sharma said witness statements had indicated that Negi was “harassed”, but added that his mandate was a fact-finding probe – not a “disciplinary inquiry”. Incidentally, he submitted his affidavit directly to the court, bypassing the Advocate General’s office.
DGP Verma also chose to bypass the Advocate General’s office and, in his affidavit, raised several concerns regarding the SIT’s investigation, including the alleged erasure of data in a pen drive found on Negi. Verma also alleged that SP Gandhi had not cooperated when he sought case records.
SP Gandhi, who submitted his affidavit through the Advocate General’s office, stood by his probe and suggested that Negi may have been suffering from anxiety. Gandhi told the court that the investigation is hectic and his SIT is underway to examine thousands of collected documents including some pertaining to the power projects.
Taking note of the conflicting statements, as well as the findings of ACS Sharma, the High Court on May 23 upheld Kiran’s appeal and ordered that the probe be transferred to the CBI.
The next day, SP Gandhi accused DGP Verma of filing a “misleading” affidavit. In further embarrassment for the government, Gandhi alleged that some personnel in the DGP’s office had links with drug peddlers, and questioned the functioning of the Chief Secretary and a “constitutional office” in Shimla.
During much of this turmoil – including the filing of various affidavits, the High Court’s decision to transfer the probe to the CBI, and SP Gandhi’s press conference against DGP Verma – Sukhu was in Delhi attending various meetings, including of the NITI Aayog on May 25.
Upon his return on May 26, top officials briefed him on the developments and reportedly pointed out that these were a gross embarrassment for the state government and an example of serious indiscipline, especially since officers bypassed the Advocate General while submitting affidavits.
Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla held a closed-door meeting with the CM, where he reportedly also raised the issue.
The same evening, the government ordered DGP Verma, ACS Sharma, and SP Gandhi to proceed on leave; it is earned leave for Verma (who retires on May 31), medical leave for Gandhi, and casual leave for Sharma.
The internal discord in the bureaucracy reflected in an SP openly accusing the DGP has left the state administration on the back foot. For Sukhu, the problem is compounded as the Home Department is under him.
A senior Congress leader, who acknowledged that the Sukhu government had been shown in a poor light by the row, said: “In fact, the CM was in favour from day one of shifting the matter to the CBI if Negi’s kin so desired… He even took this decision at one point, but some officials told him not to go ahead as it would hurt developmental projects linked to the state’s growth… He wouldn’t have dared imagine that the probe would go to the Central investigation agency under such circumstances.”
The charges against SP Gandhi are also damaging for the Congress as he is the same officer who heads the SIT probe into the Rajya Sabha elections held in February last year, where BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan won despite the Congress majority allegedly due to cross-voting.
The case was registered against then Independent MLA from Hamirpur Harish Sharma, who is now a BJP MLA, and Rakesh Sharma, a former IAS officer and father of former Congress MLA Chaitayna Sharma, who later lost the by-elections.
BJP leaders have in the past accused Gandhi of harassing their MLAs and summoning them repeatedly for questioning.
