On Probe Into Why He Wasn't Served Samosa, Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Clarifies

Amid a row over a CID probe over samosas and cake that was meant for him being mistakenly served to his staff, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday provided a clarification over the alleged "anti-government" action stating that the probe was into an issue of misbehaviour.

Mr Sukhu told ANI, "There is no such thing... It (CID) got involved on the issue of misbehaviour, but you (the media) are running news about 'samosa'."

Further, Sanjeev Ranjan Ojha, Deputy General CID said that it was an internal matter of the CID and should not be politicised.

Mr Ojha said, "This is completely an internal matter of the CID. It should not be politicised. The Chief Minister does not eat samosas... We have not given notice to anyone. We have just said we want to find out what happened. The government has nothing to do with this... We will find out how this information was leaked."

Himachal Pradesh Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur wanted to know how the issue was termed an anti-government activity.

Jairam Thakur said, "Nowadays, the way the government takes decisions in Himachal Pradesh has become a topic of discussion in the whole country because decisions are taken without thinking. Now another topic that is being discussed is that the samosas did not reach where they should have reached, they got lost in the middle and the Chief Minister and the Himachal Pradesh government felt that this is a very serious matter and an investigation should be done on this".

"It was also said that this is an anti-government activity. The people who ate it must have been part of the government. How is this anti-government activity? Unfortunately, decisions are being taken without thinking," the BJP leader said.

The Himachal Pradesh CID has launched an investigation to determine how samosas and cake intended for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu were mistakenly served to his staff. A senior officer in the report described this act as an "anti-government" act condemning it as an offence against the intended respect for the VVIP's presence.

The report added that those involved appeared to be "acting according to their own agenda."

The alleged incident, which took place on October 21 during a program at the CID headquarters, led to a full inquiry by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). The inquiry sought to understand which officers and staff members were responsible for the oversight.

The Chief Minister visited the CID headquarters to inaugurate the Cyber wing's new Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS) station. However, instead of the Chief Minister, the samosas and cake were served to his staff, sparking an internal CID investigation. DGP Atul Verma said that the matter is being investigated by the CID and not by the police headquarters.

The investigation report details that an Inspector General (IG) officer asked a sub-inspector to procure food from a five-star hotel in Shimla's Lakkar Bazaar for the Chief Minister's program. Following this order, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and a head constable driver retrieved three boxes of samosas and cake, handing them over to a woman officer of Inspector rank. This officer, unaware of the items' intended recipient, instructed for the boxes to be placed in a senior officer's room, where they were then moved between rooms.

When questioned, the officers involved claimed that they had confirmed with tourism department personnel on duty, who reportedly stated that the items in the boxes were not on the CM's menu. The investigation further noted that an MTO (Motor Transport Officer) and HASI (Head Assistant Sub-Inspector) were assigned to manage refreshments like tea and paan for the Chief Minister's staff. According to her statement, the woman Inspector was not informed that the items inside the boxes were meant for the Chief Minister. Without opening the boxes, she directed them to the MT section.

The IG's orderly, HASI, testified that the boxes were opened by a sub-inspector and a head constable and intended for the DSP and staff in the IG's office. Following these instructions, the food was served with tea to approximately 10-12 people in the room.

Based on statements from those involved, the CID report indicates that only a sub-inspector was aware that the boxes contained refreshments for the Chief Minister. Nevertheless, these boxes, overseen by a woman Inspector, were ultimately passed to the MT section without higher clearance, and the items were inadvertently served to the Chief Minister's staff instead.

Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari commented, "The situation in Himachal Pradesh is such that the Chief Minister does not have money to pay his own salary, there is no money to pay the Chief Secretary, there is no money to pay the MLAs. This shows that the financial condition of the state has become terrible due to Rahul Gandhi's Khata-khat model and this is Rahul Gandhi's guarantee model and his economic thinking has been exposed."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)