In his seventh transfer of the year, deputy inspector general (DIG) Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi was appointed managing director of the Himachal Pradesh General Industries Corporation Ltd. (HPGIC) on Tuesday.
Gandhi has denied all charges, terming the cases a witch-hunt. Gandhi refused to comment on the transfers. I will take suitable legal remedies available to me at an appropriate time. The case was transferred to the CBI by the high court, where Gandhi remained a primary witness regarding administrative interference; the Supreme Court subsequently reprimanded the agency over its initial handling of the transferred investigation. Gandhi contested, so the state government put that notice in abeyance.
Once considered close to chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Gandhi faces two FIRs registered within 24 hours of each other over alleged financial misappropriation during his tenure as superintendent of police (SP), Shimla, between 2023 and February 7, 2026. The first FIR was registered on October 21 following a complaint by a police constable alleging non-reimbursement of ₹ 1.87 lakh (with related claims citing up to ₹ 2.35 lakh) spent on official arrangements, along with allegations of cheating and forgery. The second FIR (October 22) involves audit findings alleging the unauthorised diversion of ₹ 14.07 lakh in field establishment funds—meant for repairing constables’ quarters and police posts at Rampur and Shoghi—to renovate Gandhi’s official residence in Shimla without sanctioned approvals. In May 2025, while leading a special investigation team (SIT) into the death of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited chief engineer Vimal Negi, Gandhi accused then-DGP Atul Verma of interfering with the probe and filing misleading court affidavits. On June 20 this year, officiating DGP Ashok Tewari issued a notice, directing Gandhi to vacate his current official residence meant for the Shimla SP, also slapping a penal rent of around ₹ 1.8 lakh for occupying the accommodation months after his transfer.
Regarding the FIRs, he said, “Requisite procedures were not followed while registering cases against me, so the fairness of the investigations is highly questionable.
Verma recommended Gandhi’s suspension for indiscipline before the state government sent both officers on forced leave.
