By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: A senior cop, who is also a gallantry award winner, is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly leaking sensitive information to a human rights activist booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Arvind Digvijay Negi, who investigated several terror-related cases while on deputation to the NIA, is the officer whose records are looked into by the probe agency, sources said. They said a tip-off about the police officer came from Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Negi recently sought repatriation from NIA on personal grounds. Sources said he is investigated on multiple charges including espionage, extortion and violation of the Official Secrets Act. His premises in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur were one of the three places raided by NIA on Monday. The other two were in Srinagar – residence and office of Khurram Parvez.
Negi was part of the probe team that carried out searches at Parvez’s residence in October 2020 as part of the NGO-terror funding case. No arrests were made then. An SP-rank officer, Negi was awarded the Police Medal for meritorious service after investigating the Hurriyat terror funding case.
Promoted to the IPS in 2016, Negi was repatriated to his cadre after completion of 11 years and three months of deputation to the NIA – one of the longest tenures in the anti-terror probe agency since its inception following the terror attack in Mumbai in 2008.
Negi has probed fake currency and IS recruitment cases during his stint at NIA. He was also instrumental in cracking the MBBS admission scam in Himachal. The other high-profile cases Negi was part of was the Davinder Singh case and arrest of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed Para and cross-border/Line of Control (LoC) trade case.
The NIA is tight-lipped on the matter, not confirming or denying the role of Negi. Sources said, “He may not be the only one under scanner. Others in the team may be questioned, including another senior officer who is no longer part of the probe agency.
