Assigned to probe a large number of bank fraud and corruption cases, including more than 150 cases pertaining to the Vyapam admission-cum-recruitment scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) this year courted controversy on multiple occasions.
While the agency was building pressure on public sector banks to lodge complaints in cases of wilful loan defaults running into thousands of crores, businessman Vijay Mallya — who faces allegations of cheating the banks of over Rs. 9,000 crore — flew out of the country to London in March and has refused to come back.
Mallya slips away
The now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines promoter could not be detained at the Delhi airport despite a CBI lookout circular against him, as the agency had curiously modified the requirement seeking only intimation on his travels abroad. He was recently declared a proclaimed offender in the money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate, which has so far attached his assets worth over Rs. 8,000 crore.
In July, about seven months after it conducted searches at the State Secretariat, the CBI arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar on corruption charges, again sparking off a controversy.
The same month, the agency arrested the former Director-General of Corporate Affairs Bal Kishan Bansal on graft charges. Two days later, his wife and daughter committed suicide. And then in September, Bansal and his son also allegedly hanged themselves, leaving behind suicide notes in which they accused some CBI officials, including Deputy Inspector-General level officer Sanjeev Gautam of threatening them.
Following a hue and cry, the CBI set up an internal inquiry into the allegations and has now removed Mr. Gautam from the investigations in the case.
Tyagi case
The arrest of retired Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi in the Augusta Westland VVIP helicopter deal also drew criticism from a Delhi court a few days ago for its failure to quantify the alleged bribe given to him.
Several of the former officer’s colleagues have also spoken out in support.
Among the significant cases registered this year by the CBI dealt with the bribery allegations in the Brazilian Embraer aircraft deal involving ‘top-level’ officials of the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Defence Ministry.
The CBI also achieved a breakthrough in the Pune-based rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder case and filed a charge sheet against alleged main conspirator Virendra Tawde, a member of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti — he was arrested in June in connection with the murder of Govind Pansare.
Mystery solved
The agency unravelled the mystery behind the sensational Sheena Bora murder case that was registered in September 2015 and filed charge sheets against her stepfather Peter and mother Indrani Mukerjea.
Another important arrest was that of Yadav Singh, the then Chief Engineer of Noida/Greater Noida/Yamuna Expressway authorities in Uttar Pradesh, for alleged abuse of official position in awarding contracts worth crores. The agency is also probing his links with several influential persons. The accused had signed 1,280 contract bonds amounting to Rs. 959 crore in just eight days in November 2014.
Earlier this month, the CBI filed a charge sheet against former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother and others in the alleged illegal telephone exchange case.
Recently, the agency also arrested a Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner in Chennai in an alleged bribery case.
At least two judges were arrested by the agency this year.
While the then Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gurugram, was arrested for the alleged murder of his wife in 2013, a Senior Civil Judge (West) at Tis Hazari Courts in the national capital was arrested with her husband and an advocate for allegedly receiving bribes.
As the year draws to a close, the agency has been busy pursuing over a dozen cases of alleged illegal exchange of demonetised notes in different parts of the country.
