Himachal Pradesh's blot on khaki

FOUR months after an IG and seven other policemen were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Kotkhai custodial death case, Himachal cops are again in the news for the wrong reasons. The state government has sent the DGP and the Shimla SP, besides the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), on leave; they have been accused of indiscipline with regard to the Vimal Negi death case. Negi, a chief engineer of the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited, was found dead days after he went missing in March. The case has triggered a storm within the state police force, with the SP and the DGP levelling allegations at each other. The political stakes have also gone up — the BJP has turned the heat on the Congress government, accusing it of a cover-up.