Come clean

The suicide notes recovered from the residence of B.K. Bansal, a former director general with the ministry of corporate affairs who was being investigated for charges of corruption, and who took his life, as did his son, in Delhi on Wednesday, not long after his wife and daughter had killed themselves, raise serious questions about the CBI. The notes accuse the CBI officials who were tasked with the investigation, of torturing Bansal and his family members, and speak of the harassment that allegedly forced them to take the extreme step. The father and son in their suicide notes have named five CBI officers, including a DIG.

The charges against the CBI officials named in the suicide notes must be probed. But the investigation must be conducted by an independent body. The internal probe announced by the CBI is insufficient since the agency itself has come under a cloud. Clearly, the accused cannot probe the accused. In this case, the CBI officers have been accused of driving the Bansals to commit suicide, but Delhi Police has said they are not even registering a case. This is a violation of due process.

In the past, the CBI has been accused of acting at the behest of those in office —  the Supreme Court has famously described it as a “caged parrot”. But at the same  time, the CBI also continues to enjoy a trust and credibility, which is illustrated  by calls, across the country, to hand over a case to the CBI if it is seen to be vulnerable  to the tug and pull of partisan political interests. This reputation of the country’s  premier investigation agency is under a cloud. The picture of the CBI that emerges  from the Bansal suicide notes is of an organisation that relies on crude tools of threat,  intimidation and violence to force confessions out of people. The Bansal case involved a white collar crime, where a paper trail would presumably exist. It called for diligent investigators capable of penetrating the web of financial transactions and investments. Instead, the country’s premier investigation agency seems to have unleashed a bunch of bullies, no more competent than the worst among the constabulary. The CBI must act to stop the rot, and quickly.