Closing the file

There is no perfect crime. Even when evidence and logic point to the contrary. The discomfiture,even outrage,that the Central Bureau of Investigations closure of the 2008 Arushi Talwar double murder case has caused stems not just from the disturbing details of this particular case,but from the picture of haplessness the CBI has painted of itself and what that means for criminal investigation in this country. For the Arushi Talwar case notwithstanding its many twists and turns,including reoriented investigations under different CBI chiefs; false alarms and dead-ends; tampering and destruction of evidence was,in the end,a straightforward murder investigation. Once the local police proved their incapability,the nations premier criminal investigation agency should not have come a cropper too. With the requisite investigative intelligence and forensic technology,the game can always be taken away from the criminal. Sooner or later,murder will out. Its not just the CBIs admission of failure that rankles. Its also the abrupt closure,as if the agency just threw its collective arms in the air and said Enough! This case has written on the wall how sorely we miss state-of-the-art forensic laboratories. But there are questions of investigative philosophy the CBI cannot evade. The case has been closed due to the lack of evidence,even as the CBI signs off with its suspicion directed at inmates of the Talwar house. The Noida police had perhaps made a mess of the investigation. Much of the material evidence was either found missing or criminally tampered with. However,whats a central investigative agency for,if not to persist with evidence recovery,cornering the local police on the points of damage and then pursuing next-best avenues? Investigative logic is simple: if you turn up a dead-end,retrace your steps and begin anew,or find the nearest track. If you realise somebody doesnt want you to discover the truth,pursue that line of obstruction and youll come closer to the truth. Theres always a track to follow. In these many ways,this was a straightforward murder investigation,even if difficult one in which the CBI doesnt have the cover of political interference. If it chooses to tamely close the Arushi case,what confidence does the CBI inspire with the political-financial crimes it investigates cases in which obstruction comes from myriad and powerful vested interests?