Yog Raj Sharma
The North News
Shimla, July 14
The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Monday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) four weeks to complete its probe in the Vimal Negi death case. During the hearing, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted a status report on the progress of its probe and requested two more months to complete the investigation. The court, however, granted the agency only four more weeks to complete its inquiry.
The High Court On May 23 transferred the case to the CBI after expressing concern over the lack of progress made by the Shimla police in case . The court had noted that the local police had failed to produce significant leads and criticised the direction of the investigation, which it said had strayed from its core focus.
Following the court’s order, the Himachal Pradesh government on May 26 directed three top officials — Director General of Police Atul Verma, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Onkar Sharma, and Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Gandhi — to proceed on leave. This move came as part of the effort to ensure a free and fair inquiry by the CBI.
The court had also ruled that no officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre should be part of the CBI team, further highlighting the need for independence in the investigation.
The decision to involve the CBI followed a plea by Vimal Negi’s wife, Kiran Negi, who had expressed doubts about the impartiality of the police probe. Her petition underscored serious concerns about the handling of the case by local authorities.
