CBI clarifies position in blasts investigation

No one in the investigating agency seems to have an answer other than pointing out that the clarification was a reaction to media reports which hinted that the CBI was as much as responsible as their counterparts in the Delhi Police for failing to nab the culprits.

On Sunday, the official spokesman also said that the CBI was only assisting the Delhi Police in the investigations on three aspects. First, it was co-ordinating with the police in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan for collecting information on terrorist activities. Secondly, intelligence information was being shared with the Delhi Police and scientific expertise for handling bomb blast cases was being imparted to the latter.

The CBI’s clarification is not much different than what Delhi Police Commissioner T R Kakkar has said about the agency’s role in the probe. Recently, when the police commissioner was asked if the investigation should be handed over to the CBI, Kakkar replied that there was no need to do so as the bureau was assisting the Delhi Police.

“If the agency’s intention is to escape any blame, they have failed to do so,” says a senior police official. And with Kakkar saying sometime back that the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan was behind the blasts, the general feeling in the police headquarters is that every security agency automatically has a role to play in solving the cases.

The CBI clarification comes at a time when there is enough confusion about the blast probe. Fifteen days ago, Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna constituted a three-member team, including former police commissioner Ved Marwah, to oversee the blasts probe. Though this was considered as a snub on the Delhi Police, Kakkar had said that advice from elders was always welcome.

After the bomb blast inside a Blueline bus on December 30, another committee comprising two special secretaries was constituted. But the committee stopped functioning after three days on the pretext of not having received an official order. On the other hand, sources revealed that everything is not well between the crime branch and the special branch of the Delhi Police. Allegations are rife that exchange of information between the two are not very regular.