Panel favours reconstituting of CBI as CBII

NEW DELHI: A Parliamentary Committee is considering reconstituting the CBI as Central Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation to handle "federal" cases such as terror attacks and those pertaining to national importance.
   
"The CBI takes up post-occurrence matters since it is not endured with pre-occurrence intelligence.
   
"In the event of having powers of collecting intelligence of a probable occurrence, the CBI can prevent and if at all it goes beyond their control, the investigation will be a full-fledged one, with having the knowledge of the source of terrorist activity," Parliamentary Standing Committee for Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice Chairman E M Sudarshana Natchiappan told.
   
He also hinted that the reconstitution of the agency would help prevent terror attacks and save crucial time lost in transfer of investigation from state police to Central agencies.
   
"Various intelligence agencies are involved in giving the inputs regarding the terrorist activities to the state police. Due to the inadvertence of the local police, terrorist attacks which could have been prevented are also happening," he said.
   
"The demarcation of the accountability between the Centre and State is narrowed down in the eyes of the public," Natchiappan said.
   
While considering re-organisation of the CBI, Natchiappan said, "the committee is considering implementation of the constitutional provision for institutionalising and reorganising the CBI as Central Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation."

"Already the Constitution has empowered the Parliament to enact a law in the name and style of Central Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation under the entry (8) of Union list with the complimentary powers of concurrent list 1,2,3," Natchiappan said.

"The CBI has to deal with cases related not only to terrorist activities, but also the ones which the state government and different High Courts in the country refer to it," the Congress MP said. The CBI comes under the Delhi Special Police Act of 1946.
   
With the workload becoming "unbearable" and new cases coming up every day, the CBI is facing difficulties in effectively handling all the cases. It would be more appropriate if it is placed under a special law with a wider ambit, he said.
   
Noting that the agency had to carry out all the activities assigned to them with a small work force of 4,000 people, the committee had in its earlier report noted that the recruitment policy of the agency should be streamlined as around 1,300 posts out of the total 4,000 are lying vacant.
   
The Congress MP also expressed concern over the deputation of IPS officers from different states and leaving the agency after the deputation period which made them unaccountable at later stages of investigations. Hence, a remedial action on this account is also required.