Reflections on the IPS and CBI

The monstrous Saradha scam has claimed yet another victim. Sankar Barua, a former Assam DGP, shot himself on Wednesday, a few days after his finances came under CBI scrutiny. It is alleged that Barua had got mixed up with some suspects in the scam, and his actual role was being examined. The CBI has taken the position that Barua was only about to be questioned before the tragedy took place. It is too early to speculate why Barua had to kill himself before he was formally interrogated. Did he find himself in a blind alley? Or was he too sensitive to subject himself to a CBI probe and face the logical consequences? It is not irrelevant here that a former West Bengal DGP is in jail in connection with the same scam. Barua possibly felt he would shortly meet with the same fate. [caption id=“attachment_1718829” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] I knew Barua only slightly, having met him just once or twice. By all accounts he was a very fine officer. He came from a distinguished traditional Assamese family. His father led the State Police with great distinction in the 1960s. His brother Baskhar was in the IAS, and again a man of great reputation. It is therefore difficult to believe that Sankar strayed from the paths of virtue. But then these are the ironies of life and imponderables of these times. I am particularly pained that a senior IPS officer had to take his own life when he had everything going for him, including a lovely family. Nothing would give fellow officers like me greater anguish. Is there something here from which younger IPS officers could learn? Just a few days ago another IPS officer –this time a probationer- walked into the swimming pool and was drowned at the National Police Academy, Hyderabad after a farewell party in the adjoining Officers’ Club. Following this, the Academy imposed a liquor ban in the institution. The connection is too obvious to labour an explanation. What impressions will incidents like these create in the minds of the citizens of this country who pay for the salaries and perquisites of coveted civil services and who expect protection from crime and criminals? Not that the previous generations of IPS officers were all paragons of virtue. There were of course among them men who brought ignominy to the IPS. There is a general impression that the numbers of such black sheep are increasing at an alarming pace. Is this part of a general decline of values in the current times? I can only hazard a guess with the fear that many in the IPS now are going to lambaste me for my dim view of what is happening within and outside the IPS. This brings me to the subject of the CBI’s reputation itself. The organization is under unprecedented fire from all quarters. It is for the Apex Court to deal with some shocking allegations made against the current CBI Director. It is unfair even to make generalized comments at this stage over this unfortunate development. What I am more concerned about is the criticism that is likely to be levelled against the organization following Sankar Barua’s suicide. I am sure the media is going to scream at the CBI’s alleged methods of torturing suspects in major investigations. It may not be the physical, but the mental harassment of those questioned that could actually be in focus in the next few days. No CBI official, past or present, can reasonably take umbrage at such criticism. It is said that Barua was under extreme stress followed by depression, once he got to know that he was under the CBI lens. The organization cannot be faulted for this, unless there is irrefutable evidence that it used unfair means to ferret out information from him. No one would grudge conceding that the CBI is performing a difficult task. It is under pressure all the time to nail somebody against whom there is only flimsy evidence or exonerate some bigwig who had so much to hide. Political interference is sometimes blatant. Unholy pressure is also from the underworld and the media. The lower judiciary compounds the CBI’s misery by questioning its every action: the decision to arrest as well as the failure to arrest a suspect; the decision to close a case after lengthy investigation; or for an alleged faulty charge sheet. I am sometimes appalled when a Court gives a direction to the CBI to arrest a specified person under probe. This is interference in what falls strictly within the area of discretion of an investigating agency. In sum, the CBI does not enjoy the kind of operational autonomy it should, if it has to be a professional body it was meant to be. All this does not absolve the agency of its many commissions and omissions. A few undesirables with a known dubious past have indeed managed to infiltrate its ranks bringing avoidable odium. I personally feel that this is the right time to review its investigation procedures as also its ability to bring in the right human resources, who will work fearlessly within the contours of law. Such a review can possibly happen when a new Director is installed in a couple of months. Need I say the choice of a successor to the incumbent Director is crucial in every sense of the word. The tyranny of seniority has often caused untold damage to the organization. What we need is an officer who is both competent and honest, a difficult combination. Given some foresight and wisdom I am confident the present government will rise to the occasion and identify an officer who will restore the lost lustre to the CBI. We need to strengthen the CBI in every manner if we are serious about fighting corruption in high places more effectively than before.