Shimla, April 7:
In a significant development in the suspicious death case of Himachal Power Corporation’s Chief Engineer Vimal Negi, former Managing Director (MD) of the corporation and IAS officer Harikesh Meena has received interim relief from the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The court, in a hearing on Monday, ordered that Meena should not be arrested until the next hearing scheduled for April 9.
Meena had filed an anticipatory bail petition earlier in the day, seeking protection from arrest. The petition was heard by a single bench of Justice Virendra Singh, who directed the police to refrain from arresting Meena until the next hearing. Additionally, the court issued a notice to the state government and the police, asking for a response on the matter.
During the hearing, the police submitted a status report, which was taken on record by the court. It is expected that another status report may be presented during the next hearing on April 9.
The Shimla Police, under the Special Investigation Team (SIT), is investigating the case, but no arrests have been made so far. Along with Meena, the former director of the Power Corporation, Deshraj, is also named as an accused. Although the High Court had rejected Deshraj’s bail plea on March 26, he was granted bail by the Supreme Court and was not arrested. Deshraj has been cooperating with the investigation, with Shimla Police interrogating him for over eight hours on consecutive days.
The case stems from the mysterious disappearance of Chief Engineer Vimal Negi on March 10. His body was found on March 18 in the Govind Sagar Lake in Bilaspur district. Negi’s family alleges that he took his own life due to departmental harassment. Following a complaint from Negi’s wife, Shimla Police registered an FIR against Harikesh Meena and Deshraj.
In the aftermath of the case, the state government suspended Deshraj and removed Meena from his position as MD. Negi’s family has also been demanding a CBI inquiry into the incident, seeking a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
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