CPI M demands judicial inquiry into Vimal Negi's death says track record of CBI unsatisfactory

Shimla, May 27 (PTI) The Himachal unit of CPI(M) has demanded a judicial inquiry into HPPCL engineer Vimal Negi's death, saying the CBI's track record was not satisfactory.
     The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Friday ordered that the case be transferred from Shimla Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
     The CBI investigated the Gudiya rape and murder and Hoshiyar Singh death case but the "real culprits" were not punished, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sanjay Chauhan alleged in a statement issued here on Tuesday.
     Even in the recruitment scam, the central agency failed to recover the "huge amount of money paid by the applicants", Chauhan claimed.
     The CPI(M) leader said that justice must be delivered in the case but it "can't be done without conducting a transparent and just investigation".
     He added that it was difficult not to concede to the wishes of Negi's family who had demanded a CBI enquiry "but the dangers of such investigation must be made public".
     From the very beginning, the CPI(M) was of the view that a judicial inquiry must be ordered into the engineer's death and alleged corrupt practices in the HPPCL, the statement said.
     Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited chief engineer Vimal Negi had gone missing on March 10 and his body was found on March 18 in Bilapsur district. His wife Kiran Negi alleged that his seniors had harassed him and demanded a CBI probe. The case stirred a political storm in Himachal Pradesh, with the opposition BJP alleging a cover-up.
     Negi's family protested by placing his body outside the HPPCL office in Shimla. Later, a case of abetment to suicide and joint criminal liability under BNS against HPPCL Director (Electrical) Deshraj and Managing Director Harikesh Meena was registered.
     The Congress government in the state had formed a Special Investigation Team to probe the death but the high court on Friday ordered that the case be handed over to the CBI. The court cited the "grave concerns" raised by the DGP in his status report about the "mode and manner" of the probe into Negi's death.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)