Jai Ram seeks CBI probe into Chief Engineer’s death

Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur today sought an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the death of Vimal Negi, Chief Engineer, Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL), even as Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had announced that an Additional Chief Secretary-level officer would investigate the case.

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Negi had gone missing on March 10 and his body was recovered from the Gobind Sagar Lake in Bilaspur on Tuesday. As per the Chief Minister’s announcement, Additional Chief Secretary (Home, Revenue) Onkar Chand Sharma has been asked to conduct an inquiry into Negi’s death.

The Chief Minister said in a statement in the Vidhan Sabha that the state government would take strict action against anyone found responsible for Negi’s death in the inquiry. The Leader of the Opposition, however, demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident.

“There are talks that he was under intense pressure in his office. We need to find out what kind of pressure he was under. We have been hearing about the work environment of the HPPCL for quite some time now. We need to get to the bottom of the matter and hand over the probe to the CBI,” Sukhu added.