Negi case: ASI Pankaj sent on 1-day remand

Suspended Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Pankaj Sharma, arrested by the CBI on Sunday, was sent on a 24-hour remand by the Special CBI Court. Sharma is accused of tampering with evidence in the death case of Vimal Negi, former Chief Engineer of HPPCL.

Sharma was first presented in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Shimla, on Sunday night, when he was granted a one-day remand. He was produced again on Monday, where the court extended his remand by one more day. The case will now be heard again on Tuesday.

The ASI is accused of tampering with crucial evidence — a pen drive found in Negi’s pocket after his body was recovered. On the day Negi’s body was found, Sharma had visited the site and took possession of the pen drive, which he allegedly formatted later. A local fisherman recorded Sharma informing someone over the phone about the pen drive.

Sharma was suspended on May 19, four days before the case was transferred to the CBI. Since then, he had been kept under security and CCTV surveillance at Police Lines, Kaithu, Shimla. His counsel noted the HC had, on September 5, allowed Sharma to return to his government accommodation in Shimla. During that hearing, both the CBI and the state police had stated Sharma was not required for questioning. The defence maintains that Sharma is ready to cooperate with the investigation.

Vimal Negi had gone missing on March 10 and was found dead in Gobind Sagar Lake, Bilaspur, on March 18. Initially probed by an SIT, the case was handed over to the CBI by the HC after allegations from Negi’s family against senior officials of HPPCL.