Vimal Negi Case: CBI Court Sends ASI Pankaj to 10 Days Judicial Custody

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September 26 and will be conducted via video conferencing.

The CBI court on Tuesday sent suspended Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Pankaj Sharma to 10 days of judicial custody. He was arrested by the CBI on September 14 from Ghumarwin in Bilaspur district in connection with tampering with crucial evidence related to the mysterious death of the former Chief Engineer of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL). The case is being investigated by the CBI, and Sharma will remain in judicial custody until September 26.

Sharma was presented before the court today, where the CBI sought custodial interrogation. However, the court rejected the request and sent him to judicial custody. During the hearing, the court also dismissed his bail petition. Sharma’s lawyer argued that during a recent hearing in the High Court, the CBI had stated that Sharma’s involvement in the case was not required.

The next hearing is set for September 26 and will be held via video conferencing.

Sharma, who was sent on a one-day police remand by the court on Monday, is accused of concealing and tampering with key evidence – a pen drive reportedly recovered from the pocket of Vimal Negi’s body. Although Sharma was not part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to trace Negi, he visited the crime scene on the day the body was found and allegedly took possession of the pen drive, which he is accused of later formatting.

A local fisherman had recorded Sharma speaking on the phone about the pen drive. Sharma was suspended from duty on May 19, just four days before the case was handed over to the CBI.

During the investigation, the CBI interrogated Sharma multiple times. He was kept under police protection and CCTV surveillance at the police lines in Kaithu, Shimla. Following the High Court’s directions, he was later allowed to move to his official residence in Shimla on September 5.