Pekhubela solar power project may hold key to death: Una MLA

Una MLA Satpal Singh Satti today said that the death of Vimal Negi, Chief Engineer of the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation, under mysterious circumstances could be linked to the 32 Mega Watt solar power plant installed in Pekhubela village of Una Assembly segment during the present Congress regime.

Addressing mediapersons, Satti said the solar plant in Una was installed at a cost of Rs 240 crore, while a 35 Mega Watt solar plant, installed in Kachchh district of Gujarat during the same period was set up at a cost of only Rs 140 crore.

He said the BJP had charged that there was misappropriation of Rs 100 crore in the Pekhubela project, adding that Negi was reportedly under pressure to sign files related to the project. The BJP leader said his party has been repeatedly demanding handing over the case of Vimal Negi’s death to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), but the Chief Minister and his Cabinet colleagues had been evading the BJP’s demands. Now that the case has been handed over to the CBI, the BJP hopes that some big names would be exposed.

Satti said there were reports that a pen drive was found near Negi’s body, which has gone missing, adding that Additional Chief Secretary Onkar Sharma’s report on Negi’s death has also not been made public.

Retorting to Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi’s statement that CBI was a “parrot”, Satti said it was not proper for a minister to talk loose about an independent Constitutional body.

The BJP MLA said after the verbal spat between the DGP and Shimla SP, the involvement of government officers in hushing up matters, diverting the direction of inquiries, and officers being hand-in-glove with mafias is evident, adding that all this cannot be possible without the patronage of those in power.

Satti alleged that ever since the Congress government came to power, there is chaos all over and officers with suspicious credentials are calling the shots in the government. There is no protocol, no coordination and no discipline among the officials and politicians in power. He questioned whether the state was safe in the hands of such politicians and officers.

Himachal Tribune