Who moved the Chief Minister’s samosa? This is a puzzle currently occupying the Himachal Pradesh CID as a five-star hotel order meant for Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu ended up apparently on wrong plates.

Show-cause notices have been slapped against five police personnel, including a woman inspector, over the October 21 episode, with the CID probe terming the careless consumption – of the three boxes, carrying the samosas and cake – an “anti-government” act.

What’s worse, as per sources close to the CM, Sukhu does not even have samosas. The CM recently recovered from an illness, and the spicy, oily savoury is off his menu.

Sources said, “The police personnel served the show cause notices are in the process of recording their final statements before a DSP-rank probe officer, who has recommended strict disciplinary action against the five.” The DSP concerned, Vikram Chauhan, submitted the probe report to the IG (CID) on October 25.

Spotting a hot potato in the samosa row, particularly the “anti-government” label, the BJP has accused the Himachal government of being more concerned about the CM’s meals than the people’s problems. “It appears the government is not interested in any developmental work and is solely focused on food,” BJP MLA and media in-charge Randhir Sharma said.

Elaborating the sequence of events on October 21, a source said: “CM Sukhu had gone to the CID Headquarters to inaugurate a Cyber Wing station when an Inspector General (IG)-rank officer, who was not aware that the CM did not have samosas, instructed a sub-inspector to fetch three boxes of samosas and cakes from Hotel Radisson Blue for him. After the eatables were brought to the CID headquarters, these were served to the CM’s security staff.”

The list of those present at the CID Headquarters at the time ran impressively long. The police brass included the DGP, CID, S R Ojha; IG Santosh Patial; DIG (Crime) D K Chaudhary; and DIG (Cyber Crime) Mohit Chawla, among others, while Sukhu was accompanied by local MLA Harish Janartha and Rural Development and Panchyati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh.

In his probe report, DSP Vikram Chauhan wrote that the sub-inspector told by the IG to get some eatables “in turn directed an assistant sub-inspector and a head constable to bring the refreshments”. “The ASI and the head constable fetched the refreshments from the hotel in three sealed boxes and informed the SI.”

At least two of the police personnel among the five who have been served show-cause notices told the probe officer that when they asked the Tourism Department staff on duty (who usually serve refreshments at CM functions) whether the snacks in the three boxes were to be served to the CM, they were told those were not in his menu.

Sources said the two apprised the sub-inspector of this. The probe also says that only the sub-inspector was aware that the three boxes were for Sukhu.

Next, the woman inspector to whom the food items were handed over apparently gave the same to the Mechanical Transport section, which was assigned the task of arranging the refreshments, without consulting a senior officer.

One of the police personnel has deposed before DSP Chauhan that he, in turn, was told to serve the material to 10-12 people sitting in the office of an IG, and hence the eatables were served to them.

Apart from indicting the five police officials, the probe report accuses them of acting in an “anti-CID” and “anti-government manner”, “according to their own agenda”, thus depriving VIPs of the refreshments.

A close aide of Sukhu said the CM could hardly be blamed for the slips between the cup and the lip. “Samosas, pakoras etc are kept out of Sukhu’s diet due to certain health issues. He has been told to restrain from oily things. This fact is known to almost every government office, department which invites him.”