The action by the CBI has drawn sharp reaction from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who accused the Narendra Modi government of using the agency to harass his Ministers and officials. Mr. Sisodia also accused the Centre of targeting him.
On allegations of misuse, retired Border Security Force (BSF) Director-General E. N. Rammohan said the agency had always been misused by the party in power at the Centre.
‘Cases were dropped’
“When I was in the CBI, my own cases which I had against senior bank officials, were dropped because the party which was then in power did not want the investigative agency to prosecute the culprits. Open-and-shut cases were closed,” Mr. Rammohan said.
He, however, added that the CBI was empowered to take up cases of alleged corruption in Delhi, which is a Union Territory.
‘Sharks get away’
“As the Lieutenant-Governor is part of the administration in Delhi, if he gets complaints against any officials, politicians or bureaucrats, he is well within his rights to refer it to the CBI,” Mr. Rammohan said.
Police reforms crusader and retired BSF chief Prakash Singh said: “I do not know the facts of the case, could be true or a witch-hunt. However, I do feel that the CBI is selectively used… while some people are prosecuted, the ‘sharks’ manage to get away. They roam about freely. There are people against whom there is almost a foolproof case, but nothing happens against them.”
Mr. Singh said a preliminary enquiry is the first stage, “if the enquiry brings out prima facie evidence, then a case is instituted and formal proceedings launched. Procedurally there is nothing wrong with the system of preliminary enquiry, because when there is a complaint, whether the facts are enough to warrant registration of a case would require an enquiry”.
