Moral rot setting into CBI top ranks

New Delhi They investigate the high and the mighty. But now, CBI's own reputation is at risk.

According to a document prepared by the Union Home Ministry, as many as 57 top CBI officers have been put on a watchlist for doubtful integrity, bad handling of cases and other charges.

They include 16 inspectors, 15 deputy superintendents of police, one deputy inspector general and several constables and legal officers. As many as 14 of these officers work in the anti-corruption bureau of the agency. Only eight of these 57 officers have been placed under suspension so far.

This list is over and above the 14 CBI officers, posted in different parts of the country, who were charged in nine criminal cases in the year 2005.

All these cases feature in the top-secret MHA document, which lists the officers of doubtful integrity every year. The list is so secret that it is sent to only a few top CBI officers.

The document, a copy of which is in possession of CNN-IBN, clearly shows how CBI operations have been compromised on various cases over the years.

"There are some bad apples within the CBI. We are trying to throw them out," says Sundari Nanda, DIG of CBI. This statement from CBI's Deputy Inspector General came immediately after the arrest of a deputy legal officer and a constable from the investigation agency in Mumbai.

The statement, coupled with the MHA watchlist, only go on to show how the reputation of the Central Investigative Agency has plunged to an all-time low because of the doubtful integrity of a handful of its officers.

The MHA list, put out last year, showed that 57 CBI officers are on its watchlist. While all these officers have either faced departmental action or have been named in criminal cases, still there are ample reasons to believe that it is just the tip of an iceberg.

As many as 10 cases were filed against 11 CBI officers in 2004. Most of them were charged for taking or asking for bribes.

The MHA list also raises questions as to how these officers were chosen for the India's top investigating agency in the first place.

“The officers included in this list are not ordinary ones. This list is prepared department wise and is based on inputs received from the departments. It is prepared on the basis of records as to how some officers have handled various case files. The way they have been winning and dinning in big hotels, and the way they have accepted gifts,” Former CBI Director Joginder Singh said.

The list includes officers who have handled high-profile cases like the Bofors arms deal, the Mumbai blasts case and the investigation of underworld don Abu Salem. Some of the CBI officers under the microscope have also served in the sensitive Interpol wing of CBI.

The situation is so alarming that it has now forced the CBI to sit up and act. In an unprecedented circular, new CBI Director Vijay Shankar has sent a strong note to all officers asking them to strictly ensure integrity in its ranks.

"Our motto of impartiality and integrity has been compromised in the recent past and that should send the alarm bells ringing. Under no circumstances, any questionable conduct on the part of any officer will not be tolerated and we will have to deal with him with a heavy hand to curb dishonest tendencies," the circular says.

In fact after taking over, Vijay Shanker has already dismissed two officers from service after they were sentenced by the court for taking bribes. It's now clear that a churning process has begun within the CBI.

However it remains to be seen how far will the big bosses in the agency go to restore the reputation of the CBI and whether the new benchmark will apply to all officers, including the big and small ones.

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