The Central Bureau of Investigation has transferred its head of Kolkata branch, Abhay Singh, just two days after Special Director of the premiere criminal investigating agency made a hurricane tour of the city.
Rakesh Asthana, the CBI special director, submitted his report to the agency director, Alok Verma, following his trip to Kolkata. He reportedly told Verma that the Kolkata branch was ill-equipped to deal with several corruption cases handed over to them including multi-crore Saradha scam, Rose Valley chit fund case and Narada sting operation investigation. All these cases have involved senior politicians of the ruling party of Bengal, Trinamool Congress.
Deputy Inspector General Abhay Singh, the Madhya Pradesh cadre officer who was working as branch head of Kolkata, has been asked to take over the charge of Ranchi office in Jharkhand.
A CBI official said, “A strong officer with impeccable capabilities to work against all pressure will be sent to Kolkata. Most probably he would be CBI's own cadre officer.”
Asthana had refused to reveal much during his trip in Kolkata.
After a hiatus, the investigation in several corruption cases against Mamata Banerjee government including high profile Saradha case has resumed.
On his visit, the Gujarat cadre officer, rebuked a number of senior and junior officers for dragging their feet on several cases. Sources said that Asthana had asked why notices were served to the accused to depose against the CBI. He also asked why officers were dilly-dallying while gathering evidence for the corruption cases, particularly the Saradha investigation.
An officer told the second in command of the CBI that the people involved in the case are high profile and more time was needed to collect evidence against them. Asthana is said to have responded to this by asking if the officers had contacted the legal cell in Delhi regarding the same. Abhay Singh, who is known to be a capable officer, did not have answers to Asthana's query.
Asthana, as sources pointed out, has given one month to senior officers to collect all the evidence on the Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund cases. He has also asked the officer to inform Delhi regarding its progress.
“Whatever you would do now would do in consultation with our legal team in Delhi. All the cases have to be finished and chargesheet would have to be filed in three months,” one official quoted him as saying.
Sources revealed that many heads will roll now even after Singh's transfer. One of the officers is Ranjit Kumar, a superintendent rank officer, who has been asked not to touch a single file till the legal cell in Delhi gave him instructions to do so.
There are at least eight junior officers, working in Kolkata CBI, who have been deputed from Bengal and Kolkata police. The CBI headquarters has asked all these officers not to touch the file till new branch heads take over on Monday.
“From now on, the new branch head would take steps only after consulting the legal cell of the CBI in Delhi,” said an officer.
Senior officials in Delhi also raised suspicion about some of the officers leaking information to the state government. Sourced said that they will be tracked and given appropriate punishment.
The political circle in Bengal were surprised to see this sudden wake up call from CBI with only a year to go for the general elections. This is also being done at a time when Mamata Banerjee is actively participating to form a front against Narendra Modi ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elelctions.
However, the CPM and Congress have found it to be a complete eyewash.
“What were they doing all these years? The scam broke in 2014 and now it is 2018. The Supreme Court ordered the CBI inquiry, and the agency should be asked if they were in deep sleep,” said central committee member of CPM, Sujan Chakraborty.
“It's a game between the state and Central government. Nothing important,” said Adhir Chowdhury, Congress president in Bengal.
However, Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, “Wait for some time. You will see what's going to happen.”