CBI forms three-member team to investigate Vimal Negi death case

The CBI has registered an FIR into the death of Vimal Negi, Chief Engineer of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL), and formed a three-member special team to probe the matter.

Vimal Negi had gone missing on March 10. His body was found in the Gobind Sagar Lake in Bilapsur district on March 18. His wife lodged a complaint in Shimla alleging that HPPCL Director (Electrical) Deshraj was pressuring her husband for the past six months.

The Himachal Pradesh Police registered a case of abetment of suicide and an SIT-led by SP, Shimla, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi was investigating the matter.

The Additional Chief Secretary (Home) had also inquired the matter and filed a 66-page fact-finding inquiry report to the government on April 8.

However, Vimal Negi’s family was not satisfied with the police investigation and approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court. A Single-Judge Bench of the High Court, led by Justice Ajay Goyal, on May 23 accepted the petition of Negi’s wife, Kiran Negi, and ordered the transfer of the probe from the state police’s SIT to the CBI.

For the fairness of the investigation, the High Court ordered the CBI to ensure that no officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre shall be part of the special investigation team that may be constituted for investigation.

The CBI, based on the court’s directions, again registered an FIR against unknown people under Sections 108 (abetment to suicide) and 3 (5) (involvement of many people in crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The three-member team, which would investigate the case, would be led by a DSP-level officer and include one Inspector and one Sub-Inspector.

Himachal Tribune