Himachal Power Engineers Association (HPEA) Demands Revocation of Senior Engineer’s Suspension

Shimla, September 4: The Himachal Power Engineers Association (HPEA) has strongly objected to the suspension of Senior Executive Engineer (Sr. Xen) Vijay Kumar Thakur, Keylong, by the HPSEBL management on September 2, 2025, over alleged misconduct. The association noted that the incident has been widely reported in the media, unfairly tarnishing the officer’s reputation without a fair and impartial inquiry.

Following a preliminary fact-finding exercise, the HPEA outlined the following key points:

a) Leave approval well before disaster: Mr. Thakur had applied for leave on July 2, 2025, which was duly sanctioned by the competent authority on August 4, 2025. He formally informed the Deputy Commissioner on August 11, 2025, and proceeded on leave from August 18, 2025—well before the natural disaster that struck between August 25 and 28, 2025.

b) Resumed duty post-disaster: Acting on HPSEBL management’s instructions, he rejoined duty on August 28, 2025, and actively engaged in restoring electricity supply in the affected areas.

c) Alleged public humiliation: In his representation, Mr. Thakur has stated that he was subjected to public humiliation by the Deputy Commissioner in front of multiple eyewitnesses. HPEA said this is a serious charge that warranted an impartial investigation before any punitive action was taken.

The association emphasized that HPSEBL engineers and staff across the state are working tirelessly under extremely difficult circumstances to restore power supply. Suspending a sincere and hardworking officer without even a preliminary inquiry, HPEA said, is deeply demoralizing for the entire workforce.

HPEA has therefore urged both the HPSEBL management and the state government to revoke the suspension of the Senior Engineer, Keylong, with immediate effect, so that engineers and employees can continue their duties with motivation and without fear.