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Making the first arrest in the mysterious death of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL) chief engineer Vimal Negi, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday apprehended suspended Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Pankaj Sharma of the Himachal Pradesh Police in Shimla for allegedly tampering with crucial evidence.
“ASI Pankaj Sharma was arrested after detailed questioning in Shimla. He will be produced before the court of the Special CBI Judge tomorrow (Monday). The matter remains under active investigation,” a senior officer of the CBI, which had on May 26 lodged a fresh FIR in connection with the Vimal Negi death case.
ASI Sharma was suspended on May 19, four days before the investigation into the Vimal Negi death case was transferred to the CBI on May 23.
Vimal Negi had gone missing from his office in New Shimla on March 10 and was found dead in Bilaspur district on March 18.
According to police sources, the suspended ASI has been charged with “misplacing a pen drive recovered from the body of Vimal Negi”. During the investigation, it was found that Sharma had “carelessly handled or deliberately mishandled the evidence linked to the case”, police sources said.
On May 24, the ASI was placed under police security and under 24×7 CCTV surveillance at the Kaithu Police Lines. Four policemen, including one Head Constable and three Constables, had been deployed for his security.
On September, hearing a petition filed by Manjana Sharma, the wife of the suspended ASI, alleging that her husband was “being kept in illegal police custody under the guise of providing security”, the division bench of Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Ranjan Sharma ordered the withdrawal of police security to the ASI and allowed him to go home, taking into consideration the observation of the Joint Security Review Committee (JSRC) of the Himachal Pradesh Police, stating that “there is no threat to the life of the suspended ASI”, accused of disappearing a pen drive in the Vimal Negi death case and deleting its data, and “his existing security can be withdrawn”.
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Vimal Negi’s death triggered widespread protests from his family and well-wishers. They accused three senior officers, including former director (Electrical) Desh Raj and Managing Director Harikesh Meena, of negligence and harassment that led to his death.
Their protests escalated into a political conflagration between the ruling Congress government and the Opposition BJP.
A fact-finding probe, assigned to Special Secretary Onkar Sharma, found that Vimal Negi was reportedly harassed in his office. The fact-finding probe also found “various discrepancies” in the allotment of the multi-crore Pekhuwala Solar Power Project in Una district.
Desh Raj and Harikesh Meena approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court and later the Supreme Court, securing anticipatory bail.
