Didi: Demanding CBI probes a mistake

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday admitted that it was a mistake to have frequently demanded probes by the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI) in several incidents while she was in the Opposition.

“Earlier, I had an impression about the CBI and used to clamour for CBI probe hoping that it would succeed in making breakthroughs in the cases. But I became totally disillusioned after finding how the Central agency failed to crack the Tapasi Malik murder case in Singur,” she said in a candid confession. Her admission of mistake assumed significance because it came on the floor of the House in the Assembly. Training guns on the Central agency, she then pointed out its failures in one case after another.

“What is the CBI’s success rate? The CBI has failed to crack the Nobel medal’s theft and closed its investigation. Apart from the Tapasi Malik murder case, the Nandigram police firing also exposed the CBI’s failure. Similar fate happened in Rizwanur Rahman death case and Ranaghat case also,” she claimed.

Questioning the Central agency’s integrity, the chief minister complained, “In Nandigram case, the CBI acted against two to three police officers at the ground level but let off their seniors at the top level. We want the CBI to punish all of them who were spared.”

She also described the CBI probe as “total marketing” exercise and even accused the CBI of functioning politically. Ms Banerjee reasoned, “The CBI does what suits it politically. Till date we have recommended 14 cases including Waqf scam to the CBI for probe. The list included the Ranaghat case also. But none of them was taken over by it. The CBI informed us in writing about its inability to probe the cases.”