POST-POLL VIOLENCE PROBE: CBI DOESN’T INSPIRE CONFIDENCE THE TRINAMOOL TROIKA
Agency unlikely to move beyond questioning of a few leaders in this case.
The Calcutta High Court’s decision to hand over the cases of murder and crimes against women in connection with the alleged postpoll violence in West Bengal to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is unlikely to provide justice to the victims if the past conduct of the CBI, in cases related to West Bengal, are to go by.
The CBI, for years now, has been investigating the Saradha chit fund scam,
Narada scam, Rose valley chit fund scam, and the two recent cases—coal and cow smuggling scam. In all these cases, the CBI has failed to reach the actual perpetrators of the crime despite spending months and years on investigating them. The biggest “failure” of the agency has been its inability to bring to justice the politicians and businessmen who were involved in the Saradha scam where lakhs of poor people were cheated of their life’s savings. The agency has been investigating this case since 2014 and yet, it has failed to achieve anything substantial in the cases despite the case being handed over to the agency by the Supreme Court. In all these cases, political leaders from one party, Trinamool Congress, have allegedly played a prominent role, but none of them have been convicted as of today. The CBI’S inefficiency in taking these cases to their logical conclusion can be attributed more to the conduct of its top officials, than anything else, who rather than going by the rules and regulations, look at ways to appease their political bosses whoever is in power. The agency officials have been accused of shying away from taking legal action against politicians under the fear that the politician might hurt them professionally if he or she later comes to power.
In the most recent case of cow smuggling, which involves TMC leader Vinay Mishra, the agency was not even sure where Mishra had fled to. An investigation done by this newspaper revealed that Mishra was in Vanuatu. The investigation done by this newspaper further revealed that the agency has not even written to the Vanuatuan authorities apprising them of the criminal charges Mishra was facing.
Just like in these cases, in the post-poll violence case too, prominent leaders of TMC have been named by a report that was prepared by the National Human Rights Commission. The CBI, however, is unlikely to move beyond the initial questioning of a few leaders, as it has done in other West Bengal related cases, in this case too.
From all accounts, Sushmita Dev’s entry into the TMC has been orchestrated by Derek O’brien, for he was there to welcome her at her joining and also by her side at her first press conference. TMC’S other firebrand, Mahua Moitra was missing from the dais; and while one could argue that party protocol did not necessitate her presence on the occasion, it is interesting to note that Mahua is yet to tweet a welcome to her new colleague. Since both are feisty and articulate speakers (not to mention former Congress leaders), does one anticipate a power play of sorts? There are those who speculate that the one reason Derek encouraged Sushmita’s presence in the TMC was to counter Mahua, for it’s an open secret within the TMC that there is a turf war between Derek and Mahua. Watch this space.
The biggest ‘failure’ of the agency has been its inability to bring to justice the politicians and businessmen who were involved in the Saradha scam where lakhs of poor people were cheated of their life’s savings.