Shimla, May 24,
Superintendent of Police, Shimla, Sanjeev Gandhi has filed a petition in the Himachal Pradesh High Court seeking action against BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma for allegedly circulating a video clip of the court proceedings held on May 21 without the court’s permission.
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In his petition, Gandhi has termed the circulation of the video as a deliberate attempt to malign public image. The video reportedly shows his courtroom remarks during a hearing before Justice Ajay Mohan Goel. “This is an unfortunate conspiracy against me to dent my professional integrity in the eyes of the public,” SP Gandhi said.
“I have prayed the court to allow Contempt as well as proceedings under Copyright and information act, he added.
Gandhi stated that Shimla Police is currently investigating a criminal case involving allegations of horse trading, in which MLA Sudhir Sharma is one of the accused. “Feeling the heat of the criminal investigation, Mr Sharma appears to have resorted to defaming me by circulating the court video, which he could not have done without prior permission of the court,” the SP said in his submission.
Gandhi maintained that his actions and the investigation carried out under the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case of Vimal Negi’s death have been impartial. “The way people are trying to politicize the death of Vimal Negi for their ulterior motives and to target the independent investigation by Shimla Police will be given a befitting reply,” he asserted.
Regarding the High Court’s May 23 ruling on the matter, Gandhi indicated that he would challenge the verdict. “The way the SIT probe is being targeted for political ends, we have decided to challenge the order of the High Court in the interest of justice to the victim’s family,” he said.
He emphasized that the SIT has covered all aspects of the case and collected vital evidence and testimonies. Gandhi expressed disagreement with the affidavit filed against him by the Director General of Police (DGP) in the High Court. “We will challenge the DGP’s affidavit through a revision petition. The hard work of the SIT must not go to waste,” he said.
Recounting past incidents, SP Gandhi claimed that he has been systematically targeted for dissenting from the police recruitment process between 2019 and 2021, which he said later led to the exposure of the police recruitment scam. “Political parties should answer what happened to the recruitment scam now being probed by the CBI,” he questioned.
He further alleged that a confidential letter he had written to the DGP regarding a drug peddling case and a CID probe was leaked to the media, which he termed an act of “vengeance” by senior officers. He also accused the Chief Secretary, Prabodh Saxena, of interfering in the investigation of the Brahma Samaj property case in Shimla by allegedly shielding encroachers occupying temple land illegally. A case has been filed by Gandhi in the High Court concerning the issue.
In a serious charge, SP Gandhi claimed that his investigation into the 2022 Rasoi Ghat LPG blast was deliberately discredited. “Former DGP Sanjay Kundu attempted to portray a simple LPG blast as a terrorist act by fabricating samples and introducing RDX into the evidence,” he alleged, further stating that a CID probe later validated the original investigation conducted by his team.
“I will foil every attempt to question my honesty and professional integrity. I have already submitted letters that expose everyone, whether it’s the DGP or others,” Gandhi said. He concluded by affirming that he would prefer to resign from the police service rather than compromise on his professional ethics. “If I am not able to uphold my integrity, I will choose to quit the service,” he added.
