Chor police khela!

Ki darun tight dichhe dekecho, Modi’r CBI Ke? Didi thakte keu kichhu korte parbena kaukke! Did you see how well Modi’s CBI is being responded to? Didi being with us, none could do anything to anyone! I did not dare to see the man’s face, let alone take a picture, as I hurriedly walked away from the group.

Anubrata Mondal, aka Kesto, a senior functionary in the Trinamool party, has been summoned in a few cases by the CBI. The last time he developed serious ailments just before the appearance, forcing him to be admitted to a hospital, where he underwent critical treatment overseen by a team of doctors. His lawyers obtained a stay on his arrest for a few weeks from the ever-kind judiciary. The court helps every other person from the government or party, fearing an imminent arrest for some or other wrongdoing.

Kesto was discharged from the hospital, and two CBI summons were waiting for him. One on proceeds from cow smuggling and another in the post-poll violence. The case of the former Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s summons and the attempted CBI questioning at his house was aborted by the presence of our Hon’ble CM sitting on a dharna protesting against the CBI’s highhandedness. The CM, with her current higher stakes eyeing a PM’s post in 2024, cannot risk such a show of public solidarity in the case of Kesto.

Khela Hobe, chor-police khela hobe, the game will be played, the thief-police game will be played, was the taunt from one of the districts over dodging the central investigation teams, the ED and CBI etc. Branding all of them as agents of the BJP party is only giving rise to organized and white-collar crimes, like the latest one, Shanti Surana’s chit fund scam of an estimated Rs.2000 crores. Agitating against the High Court judges for taking a stand against corruption or demeaning the CBI or ED would not bring lasting glory to the AITC party or its most important face, the CM.

Leaders like Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Kunal Ghosh, Tapas Paul (deceased) and a few more cooperated with the investigating agencies. Still, they were taken to CBI prison in Bhubaneshwar, incarcerated for nearly a year and a half. None knows their crime or punishment and eventual release. However, they are soundly back in circulation, giving rise to doubts of ‘settlements,’ of some sort not prescribed by law.

Any discretionary feature in the criminal justice system, vested with either the State or the Centre, can be exploited for political purposes, both as baits and severe penalties. Such aberration will end if transparency is strictly enforced.

All those who are not cooperating with the investigative agencies could later become an embarrassment to larger political goals designed by the AITC party. CBI and ED must not become pre-election tools of oppression to influence the voting pattern, which we have seen in the many hanging cases for decades, reviving every time during the elections. Such things depreciate the value of the investing agencies as well.

Not cooperating with the agencies merely because they are Central is not a mature argument, which must be revisited and rectified.

Sampath Kumar

Intrépide Voix