Chief Engineer Negi's last rites performed at native village in Kinnaur

After receiving assurance of appropriate action against the two senior officers of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) and registration of an FIR against the said officers, family members of Chief Engineer Vimal Negi and employees of the HPPCL called off the protest and took the body of Vimal Negi to his native village for cremation. Negi’s last rights were performed in Katgaon village in Nichar tehsil in Kinnaur today during which hundreds of people were present.

The family agreed to call off the protest after being assured by four Cabinet ministers of the state government, namely Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi, PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh, Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh and Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani, who met the family members during the protest.

The body of Vimal Negi, who was missing since March 10, was found in Bilaspur district in a mutilated state on Tuesday from where it was taken to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bilaspur for postmortem. The body was then brought back to Shimla where family members of Negi and employees of the HPPCL staged a protest and accused Managing Director of the HPPCL Harikesh Meena and Director (Electrical) Desh Raj of mentally harassing and pressurising Negi which led to his the alleged suicide. The family members then demanded a CBI probe into the matter and suspension of the two officers and refused to remove Negi’s body until their demands were met.

Police has registered an FIR under section 108 (abetment of suicide) and 3(5) (joint criminal liability) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 against the two officers. Besides, the state government also put Desh Raj under suspension. An inquiry by Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Onkar Sharma has also been initiated. He will submit a report within the next 15 days.