Himachal: Knives out as Shimla SP accuses DGP, staff of misconduct after clash over Vimal Negi case

Shimla: A day after the Himachal Pradesh High Court transferred the probe into Vimal Negi's death to the CBI, the head of SIT in the case, Superintendent of Police of Shimla Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi, hit out at the Director General of Police on Saturday, claiming he filed the status report questioning the SIT investigation with an ulterior motive. The SP also accused the state police chief and his staff of misconduct in other cases.

In an unprecedented move, SP Gandhi levelled a litany of allegations against DGP Atul Verma at a press conference and said he would prefer to quit rather than tolerate insults. There was no immediate reaction from the DGP.

"We had carried out the investigation with full honesty and integrity and the status report and affidavit presented by the DGP in the court was very irresponsible and it has happened as senior police officers posted in the police headquarters hold a grudge against me," the SP said.

He said he would again approach the court with facts and documents and also expose how DGP Verma filed the status report with "ulterior motives".

The judgment delivered by the High Court on Friday said that "the Court is of the considered view that in this case, there is an exceptional situation which requires that the matter be investigated by the CBI as the Director General of Police, has raised grave concerns about the mode and manner in which the investigation is being carried out in his status report".

Vimal Negi who was posted as General Manager and Chief Engineer in Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited had gone missing on March 10 and his body was found on March 18. His wife Kiran Negi had alleged his superior officials had been misbehaving with him for the past six months.

Targeting the DGP's staff, Gandhi told reporters that during the ongoing campaign launched by the Shimla police against the drug mafia, it came "to notice that a member of the personal staff of the DGP had links with Sanjay Bhuria gang" allegedly involved in the drug trade.

He also claimed that a false report was submitted "at the behest of the DGP Atul Verma" in the Vinay Aggarwal case. Aggarwal was booked for allegedly carrying out extortion in industrial areas of Himachal Pradesh.

Gandhi alleged that the "involvement of DGP personal staff have also been found in leaking of a confidential document report from the CID department following which an FIR was registered in the case and I have no hesitation in saying that pressure was built to obstruct the investigation on several occasions." Alleging that a conspiracy was being hatched against him by the DGP Office for a long time, he said that efforts were made to project a simple gas leak blast at an eatery in Shimla as a terrorist activity with the claim that RDX was found.

He alleged it was done by "manipulation" of the National Security Guard (NSG) by former DGP Sanjay Kundu and senior officers in the Police Headquarters. However, the final report said that there was no RDX and it was a gas leak blast, he said.

Two persons were killed while over ten had sustained injuries in the blast that occurred in the eatery located in Middle Bazaar adjacent to the fire brigade office in the heart of Shimla city on the evening of July 18, 2023.

"I have filed a petition in the court against sitting BJP MLA from Dharamshala Sudhir Sharma for selectively live streaming the High Court proceedings which is contempt of proceedings and violation of copyright and information act," Gandhi said.

Gandhi alleged that Sharma had emerged as a mastermind in the alleged "horse trading" of an MLA. He "has maliciously portrayed me in bad light and tarnished my image", the SP alleged.

Gandhi said that he has an unblemished record of honesty and dedication and would prefer to quit rather than brook insults.