A day after the Himachal Pradesh High Court transferred the Vimal Negi death investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Shimla&rsquo;s Superintendent of Police, Sanjeev Gandhi, launched a scathing public criticism of the state&rsquo;s Director General of Police (DGP), Atul Verma. Gandhi described Verma&rsquo;s affidavit submitted to the court as &ldquo;irresponsible&rdquo; and announced his plan to contest it by filing a revision petition.
Gandhi did not stop there &mdash; he also accused the DGP and his team of professional misconduct and suggested that personal vendettas within the police hierarchy had influenced the case. &ldquo;We had carried out the investigation (Negi&rsquo;s death case) with full honesty and integrity and the status report and affidavit presented by the DGP in the court was very irresponsible and it has happened as senior police officers posted in the police headquarters hold a grudge against me,&rdquo; he said.
When approached for comment, DGP Verma declined, stating, &ldquo;I am not interested to say anything on this.&rdquo;
The High Court&rsquo;s decision to hand over the case to the CBI came in response to what it described as &ldquo;grave concerns about the mode and manner in which the investigation is being carried out,&rdquo; concerns that were raised directly by the DGP in court.
Further intensifying his claims, Gandhi alleged that a member of the DGP&rsquo;s personal staff had connections with the Sanjay Bhuria gang &mdash; a group reportedly involved in drug trafficking. He also accused Verma of orchestrating the submission of a fabricated report in a separate matter involving Vinay Aggarwal, who faces allegations of extortion in Himachal Pradesh&rsquo;s industrial zones.
Gandhi went on to claim that confidential documents from the state&rsquo;s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had been leaked with the involvement of individuals close to the DGP. &ldquo;Involvement of DGP&rsquo;s personal staff have also been found in leaking of a confidential document report from the CID following which an FIR was registered in the case, and I have no hesitation in saying that pressure was built to obstruct the investigation on several occasions,&rdquo; he stated.
Vimal Negi, a senior official serving as Chief Engineer and General Manager at Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL), went missing on 10 March. His body was discovered eight days later, on 18 March. On 9 April, his wife, Kiran Negi, petitioned the High Court to transfer the investigation to the CBI, citing dissatisfaction with the ongoing probe.
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Gandhi alleged a DGP staffer had links to the Sanjay Bhuria gang and Verma backed a false report

Vimal Negi Case: Shimla SP Accuses DGP of Misconduct

Gandhi alleged a DGP staffer had links to the Sanjay Bhuria gang and Verma backed a false report

May 25, 2025 | 10:15 IST