Sunil Chadha
Shimla: From a sudden disappearance on March 10, 2025, to a scathing Himachal Pradesh High Court rebuke to the probe team and now a fresh legal twist, the death of Vimal Negi, Chief Engineer with Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL), has gripped the hill state.
The latest development is a plea filed against the high court’s order transferring the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The petition has been submitted in the name of the Shimla Superintendent of Police (SP), though it’s unclear whether the appellant is Sanjeev Gandhi, the SP who was recently sent on leave amid indiscipline controversy, or his successor Gaurav Singh, the Solan SP given additional charge of Shimla.
Here’s a complete timeline of this high-profile case:
March 10, 2025: HPPCL Chief Engineer Vimal Negi goes missing after attending office in Shimla
March 18: His body is recovered from Gobind Sagar Lake in Bilaspur district
March 19: Post-mortem conducted at AIIMS, Bilaspur; FIR filed by Vimal Negi’s family naming three senior HPPCL officers for alleged mental harassment
Same day, Himachal government orders a fact-finding inquiry led by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Onkar Chand Sharma after Vimal Negi’s family stages protest outside HPPCL office in Shimla and refuses to cremate body
April 8: Onkar Chand Sharma submits the inquiry report to the Power Secretary
April 22: Vimal Negi’s family files a petition in the Himachal Pradesh High Court seeking a CBI probe
May 14: Power Secretary requests a review of Onkar Chand Sharma’s report
May 15: Onkar Chand Sharma refuses, stating that adding the accused officers’ versions is unwarranted at this stage
May 20: DGP submits a status report in Himachal Pradesh High Court, accuses Shimla SP of interfering in the investigation
May 21: High Court reserves judgment
May 23: Single-judge bench of high court orders the probe be handed over to the CBI
May 30: Shimla SP files appeal against single-judge bench order, wants case to be heard by division bench
Sanjeev Gandhi, the then Shimla SP, was leading the SIT formed after Negi’s body was recovered. He was recently sent on leave following disciplinary issues, with CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu publicly stating that internal squabbling in the police force would be dealt with firmly.
Gaurav Singh, the current SP of Solan, has since been given additional charge of Shimla.
Appeal faces technical hurdles
The appeal by the Shimla SP is yet to be admitted by the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The registry has flagged several procedural defects: It was filed in an official capacity without routing it through the Advocate General’s office. Several pages were illegible and other procedural lapses have also been pointed out.
The high court has allowed time to rectify these defects before the petition can be considered.
What the HC said while ordering cbi probe
In his May 23 order, Justice Ajay Mohan Goel severely criticised the state’s handling of the probe and the functioning of the SIT under the Shimla SP.
The high court observed: “The Additional Chief Secretary (Home)’s fact-finding report was suppressed by the government. The SIT failed to seek a copy of this report. The investigation focused only on the suicide theory, ignoring serious allegations of pressure and harassment by Negi’s seniors at the HPPCL.
Statements corroborating these allegations from within HPPCL were ignored. The DGP himself expressed lack of faith in the SIT’s direction, raising questions on its impartiality.”
In light of these concerns, the high court handed over the probe to the CBI with a strict instruction that no officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre should be part of the investigating team.
