Chief Engineer’s suicide sparks political uproar in HP

Shimla: Death The death of Vimal Negi, a Chief Engineer at Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation, whose body was recovered from Bhakra dam, eight days after he went missing, has sparked a political uproar and protests in Shimla with Opposition BJP and employees of the board seeking a high-level probe by Central agency, primarily the CBI.

Even as the state government on Wednesday ordered an inquiry by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Onkar Sharma and removed Managing Director Harikesh Meena from the post, the Opposition has refused to relent.

The power corporation employees, who on Tuesday, had written a letter to Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu asking for a thorough investigation and action against the management, held a massive protest outside the headquarters.

They also held a condolence meeting at the BCS Chowk and pledged not to accept any other inquiry except the one by the Central agency and suspension of the senior officials, accused of pressurizing Negi and subjecting him to mental harassment at work.

Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur, who also lodged protests in the state Assembly, demanding action against the officials for allegedly forcing Negi to take an extreme step of suicide.

Leading the BJP MLAs, Thakur also reached the BCS chowk and sat on dharna. He also met family members of Negi and shared their grief.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu also made a statement in the Assembly informing the House about circumstances relating to Negi’s disappearance and also recovery of his body. He assured that a high-level inquiry will be conducted and the accused will not be spared.

Meanwhile, police have registered an FIR in the case on basis on a complaint filed by Kiran Negi, wife of the deceased. The complaint also has named Meena.

Negi, said to be an upright and honest officer hailing from Kinnaur, went missing on March 10. It was only on Monday, that some fishermen spotted the body in the water near Dhanipkar in Bhakra Dam Shahtalai in the evening and informed police the next day. Locals said that an identity card was recovered from a pocket, revealing that it was the missing engineer.

Negi’s family had claimed that he was dealing with stress and was also facing pressure and a non-conducive environment at the workplace.