Shimla, May 3 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh High Court has extended the interim bail of former managing director of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (HPPCL), IAS officer Harikesh Meena, till May 15 in a case related to the mysterious death of chief engineer Vimal Negi.
The court of Justice Virender Singh passed the order after hearing arguments on Meena’s anticipatory bail petition, in which he sought protection from arrest. The state government, opposing the bail, submitted that crucial facts are still emerging from the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe.
The additional advocate general informed the court that the matter is under detailed investigation, and sought more time to complete the probe.
During Friday’s hearing, the SIT submitted a status report disclosing that between April 1 and March 10 — the day Vimal Negi went missing — former director (electrical) Deshraj made 463 calls to Negi on his mobile numbers. Additionally, Meena made 7 calls, while director (administration) IAS officer Shivam Pratap Singh made 53 calls to Negi.
These call records were extracted from Negi’s phone data during the investigation.
The police have seized the mobile phones of accused Deshraj and Meena and sent them to the State Forensic Laboratory (SFL), Junga for analysis to uncover any potential conspiracy.
The report does not mention whether the phone of Shivam Pratap Singh has been seized.
Several other electronic devices recovered during the investigation have also been sent to SFL Junga, and reports are awaited.
However, the police have yet to trace the mobile phone of Vimal Negi, which remains a critical missing link. Despite deploying divers to search in Govind Sagar Lake, where Negi’s body was recovered on March 18, the phone could not be located. He had been reported missing since March 10.
Following a complaint from Negi’s wife, who had accused Meena, Deshraj, and other senior officials of harassment, a case was registered at New Shimla Police Station. The chief engineer’s wife had earlier written to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu alleging mental harassment by senior officers led to her husband's death.
The High Court has scheduled the next hearing for May 15 to review the police status report and decide further on the matter.
UNI ML PRS