The Himachal Pradesh government has ordered an ACS-level inquiry to probe circumstances and allegations into the death of Vimal Negi, Chief Engineer cum General Manager of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL).
The body of Negi, who was missing since March 10 after attending his office, was recovered from Govind Sagar Lake near Swarghat in Bilaspur district on Tuesday.
As per a notification issued by the state government on Wednesday, “There are allegations Vimal Negi was under pressure in his organisation, and this issue was raised in the HP Vidhan Sabha, in the media and by representatives of employee unions.”
“ While the police are investigating circumstances leading to the death, it is necessary to go deeper into the allegations levelled against the management of HPPCL, and therefore the government has ordered Additional Chief Secretary (ACS – Home) Onkar Sharma to hold an in-depth inquiry and also associate family members, employees or any other person who wishes to associate in the inquiry to be completed within 15 days.”
In another notification, Managing Director of HPPCL, Hrikesh Meena has been replaced by Rakesh Prajapati and Director Electrical Desh Raj with Surender Kumar. Both Meena and Desh Raj will not attend office till completion of the inquiry.
Making a statement in the House over Negi’s death, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh said, “The government would take strict action if someone is found responsible for Negi’s death in the inquiry.”
The Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur, however, demanded a CBI inquiry to ensure a fair and transparent probe in the case.
He said, ““There are talks that he (Negi) was under inmense pressure in his office. We need to find out what kind of pressure he was under; besides aring about the work environment of HPPCL for quite some time and a CBI inquiry should be ordered to get to the bottom of the matter.”
Meanwhile, employees of HPPCL held a strong demonstration in front of the office of the corporation at Shimla, where the body of the deceased chief engineer was brought on Wednesday, demanding registration of an FIR against the management.
The relatives of Negi have also demanded the “registration of an FIR against Hrikesh Meena and Desh Raj.”
