SC refuses CBI probe, asks him to move HC

Supreme Court on Monday refused to order a CBI probe into the recent attacks on social activist Swami Agnivesh in Delhi and Pakur district of Jharkhand, saying the state police was already investigating the matter.

Agnivesh claimed that the police in Jharkhand was not probing the matter and a state cabinet minister had dubbed him a “fraud”. The court, however, granted liberty to him to make a representation to the competent authority for providing security.

A bench of Justices SA Bobde and L Nageswara Rao also refused to club the two FIRs registered after attacks on Agnivesh in Pakur on July 17 and Delhi on August 18 and refer it to CBI.

“We are not saying what happened to you is right or wrong. But the state police is investigating the matter. We cannot order CBI probe,” the bench said, adding the FIRs cannot be clubbed as they were separate incidents.

Advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for Agnivesh, said that in Jharkhand a cabinet minister had called him a “fraud” and hence he cannot expect a fair investigation from the police.

He alleged that members of the Bharatiya Janata Party had assaulted him in Pakur and Delhi in July and August.

“In the Pakur case, they have even lodged a case against me and therefore investigation should be transferred to CBI,” he said, adding that Agnivesh was 80-years old and needed to be provided security.

The SC said, “You (Agnivesh) can approach the high court with your grievances for CBI probe and as far as your security is concerned, you can approach the competent authority”. The court said in the circumstances the petition is withdrawn.

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CBI has written to Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and Global Science Research in connection with the illegal personal data harvesting of Indians from the social networking platform, sources said on Monday.

In the letters sent to the companies, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought the details of data collection exercise adapted by them, they said.

After reference from the Centre, the investigative agency had initiated a preliminary enquiry against Cambridge Analytica and Global Science Research last month over the alleged data theft.

Cambridge Analytica allegedly received data from Global Science Research which employed “illegal means” of data harvesting of Indians using Facebook, they said. Facebook has over 20 crore users in India.

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