Shimla, May 24 -- In a setback to the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government, the high court on Friday transferred the probe into the recent death of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) chief engineer-cum-general manager Vimal Negi from the state police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Pronouncing the order, the Himachal Pradesh high court bench of Ajay Mohan Goel directed the CBI to take over the probe from the state police's special investigation team (SIT), led by Shimla SP Sanjeev Gandhi. The high court ordered that no HP-cadre officer should be attached with the CBI team for a fair investigation. "In the course of the investigation, the CBI shall ensure that no officer from the Himachal Pradesh cadre shall be a part of the special investigation team that may be constituted for investigation. This court hopes and expects that the CBI shall carry out the investigation impartially and as expeditiously as possible," ruled the court. Vimal Negi went missing on March 10 and his body was recovered from Bhakra Dam in Bilaspur on March 18. His family members sat on a dharna outside the HPPCL office in Shimla with his body the next day, demanding a CBI inquiry but the state government remained adamant on not accepting their plea. Kiran Negi, the deceased's wife, moved the high court seeking a CBI probe. The SIT was constituted after the case of abetment to suicide was registered on March 22 in Shimla on Kiran Negi's complaint that top HPPCL officials, including director (electrical) Desh Raj, had been harassing her husband. The petitioner's advocate, RK Bawa, said, "Kiran was not satisfied with the SIT's probe from Day 1. Accepting our plea, the court has directed that no Himachal-cadre officer will be part of the CBI investigation. The government failed to act on additional chief secretary, home, Onkar Chand's report in which he indicted officers accused by the family of misbehaviour. The government withheld his report," Bawa said. "The SIT was biased and only looked into the medical history of the victim," he added. Reacting to the order, state advocate general Anup Rattan, said: "We are not averse to investigation by any party. The probe being carried out by our state police officials was fair and transparent. Our goal is justice. We won't be filing an appeal (against the order)". The high court order came two days after state director general of police Atul Verma raised questions about the SIT's impartiality in probing Vimal Negi's death. The DGP said that a pen drive was recovered from Vimal Negi's pocket on March 18, but was hidden by an assistant sub inspector of police and even formatted. In his status report, the DGP said: "This is a serious misconduct on the part of the SIT as a pen drive, presumably found on the body of the deceased, containing crucial evidence has been tampered with or destroyed after recovery."...