DNA Edit: Two former directors under probe, the CBI must salvage its pride

When two recent Directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation are being probed for irregularities, it reveals a deep rot in the country’s premier investigation agency. The two directors, Ranjit Sinha and AP Singh, presided over some of the biggest probes in the country, and the possibility that their conduct compromised the agency’s integrity, requires a thorough investigation. With India’s economy booming in the first decade and half of the 21st century, the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, which are at the forefront of combating corruption and money laundering, have been kept on its toes thanks to several instances of collusion between public servants and businessmen cropping up. For a long time the focus was on corruption and crony capitalism, best exemplified by the 2G spectrum and coal block allocation scams, which involved the loot of natural resources. While fingers were pointed at the investigating agencies on many occasions, none of these made any headway with public attention firmly riveted on the scams that hit the headlines.

But when former CBI director Ranjit Sinha was exposed by the contents of the visitor register at his official residence, which included those accused in the same cases being investigated by his junior officers, the veil was lifted on a scourge that was vitiating the agency’s innards. Predictably, the CBI refused to proceed against Sinha until the Supreme Court noted prima facie illegality in Sinha’s actions. The Blackberry Messenger (BBM) messages involving AP Singh and meat export Moin Qureshi were reported over two years ago and there was adequate prima facie evidence to warrant an immediate probe. However, the ED, despite claiming that Qureshi amassed wealth thanks to his contacts with public servants, is yet to file a charge sheet against him. Qureshi also figured in the Sinha visitor register and this raises the possibility that he was some sort of a middleman for public servants. Like Sinha, one of the messages allegedly exchanged between Qureshi and AP Singh related to a case which the CBI was investigating and the chargesheet was filed in court.

Agencies like the CBI, ED and the Income Tax department keep a close watch over their sleuths. But deterrence can be achieved only by punitive action in terms of career prospects and legal action. The CBI relies on officers drawn from other police cadres for ensuring adequate staffing in addition to its own cadre but there is no provision allowing the CBI to punish the former. They are simply sent back to their original cadre. On Tuesday, the CBI arrested a former joint director of the ED, JP Singh, for allegedly receiving a bribe in the IPL cricket betting scam investigated by him. JP Singh had been repatriated from the ED to his parent cadre, the Indian Revenue Service. It is a positive development that the action against him was not restricted to mere repatriation. But will this apply to all officers who stand accused of accepting bribes and were punished with a mere shunting out from the position they vitiated? The CBI is often accused of being a caged parrot. But when its own directors allegedly compromised the agency’s integrity, political interference is clearly not the only problem impeding the agency’s investigations.