Deceased HPPCL engineer's kin says govt investigation 'eyewash', demands polygraph test of accused

Reckong Peo (HP), April 8 (PTI) More than 20 days after Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited's chief engineer Vimal Negi was found dead, his family on Tuesday accused the Congress-led state government of betraying their trust and failing to deliver justice.

Surender Negi, elder brother of the deceased engineer, said his family waited patiently for over 15 days following Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's assurance in Vidhan Sabha, only to realise that the investigation is just an eyewash.

He said the family will now approach court for an impartial probe monitored by it.

"We don't want another family to suffer like us," he said, terming the ongoing investigation as "political drama." The HPPCL engineer had gone missing on March 10. His body was fished out of a lake in Bilaspur on March 18. Negi's relatives had sat on a dharna with his body outside the HPPCL office in Shimla the next day.

Negi's wife had alleged that her husband was being tortured by his superior officers for the past six months. He was misbehaved with and intentionally made to work late at night even when he was unwell, she had said.

Subsequently, a case of abetment to suicide and joint criminal liability under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered against HPPCL Director (Electrical) Desh Raj and Managing Director Harikesh Meena. They were granted interim bail later.

The deceased engineer's family said Desh Raj was seen roaming freely in Shimla's Tutu even after the High Court had rejected his bail plea, which raised serious questions on the functioning of the police.

"If we could trace him then, why couldn't the police?" Surender Negi asked.

Now with Desh Raj getting interim relief from court, the family said it is apprehensive about a fair investigation in the case. They demanded polygraph (lie detector) or other scientific tests of the accused to bring out the truth.

The family said despite being staunch Congress supporters, they are left heartbroken and disillusioned by the insensitive approach of the government and some party leaders.

Not a single Congress leader joined their candle march seeking justice for Negi in Kinnaur on April 5 while BJP leaders offered them moral support, the family said. Adding to their pain, district-level Congress leaders made highly insensitive remarks, they said.

Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur had said nothing tangible has come out from the state government-ordered enquiry and Negi's relatives are demanding a CBI probe.

However, Sukhu said on Monday clarified that two enquiries are going on simultaneously and no guilty person would be spared. He said the BJP's demand and the candle march are only ploy for political gains.

Sukhu also questioned why the BJP is not approaching the Union government to institute a CBI enquiry when Enforcement Directorate has conducted raids in his assembly constituency Nadaun in Hamirpur district without a valid reason.

In a statement issued on Monday, Jai Ram Thakur argued that the ED enquiry was into corruption and money laundering cases while the CBI holds enquiry on recommendation of the government or direction from courts. PTI COR BPL RUK RUK

Source: PTI