Know the cases that brought criticism to CBI

New Delhi: The CBI handles high-profile cases, and is never far from controversy. It has come under severe criticism recently for its mishandling of several scams. Here is the list:1. Coalgate scam This political scandal concerns the allocation of the nation's coal deposits to private companies by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government causing a loss of Rs 10673 billion to the exchequer. On April 26 the CBI director Ranjit Sinha submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that the coal scam status report prepared by the investigating agency was shared with the law minister Ashwani Kumar “as desired by him”, joint secretary-level officers from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the coal ministry before presenting it to the court on March 8, CBI stated to SC that 20% if its original report was changed by Government. The case is now a hot topic in media and the CBI is time and again been getting criticism for mishandling it.2. 2G Spectrum Scam Radio spectrum which is a precious and scarce natural resource of national importance was allotted by UPA government at throwaway prices to companies through corrupt and illegal means. Supreme Court of India pulled up the CBI many times for its tardy progress in the investigations. It was only after the SC decided to monitor its investigations that CBI moved faster and arrests of high-profile persons were made.3. Bofors scandal The CBI was responsible for the inquiry into the Bofors scandal of 1986. Associates of then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi were linked to alleged pay-offs made in the mid-1980s by the Swedish arms firm AB Bofors, with $40 million in kickbacks moved from Britain and Panama to secret Swiss banks. The 410 howitzer field guns purchased in the $1,300 million arms sale were reported to be inferior to those offered by a French competitor.Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi was one of the prime accused in the scandal.In January 2006, it was found that CBI had quietly unfrozen bank accounts of Ottavio Quattrocchi and has facilitated his travel across the globe by asking Interpol to take him off the “wanted” list on 29 Apr 2009. It is often suspected that ruling governments interfere with the work of the CBI, and the handling of the Bofors investigation by CBI under Congress governments has created a new synonym for CBI. 4. Hawala scandal In 1991 an arrest linked to militants in Kashmir led to a raid on hawala brokers, revealing evidence of large-scale payments to national politicians. The prosecution that followed was partly prompted by a public interest petition and yet the court cases of the Hawala scandal eventually all collapsed without convictions. The CBI's role was again criticised. 5. Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case In Priyadarshini Mattoo case, Santosh Kumar Singh (son of a high-ranking officer in the Indian Police Service) was the alleged murderer of a 22-year-old law student . The CBI has been under a cloud owing to its handling of the case.As the accused was the son of a high-ranking officer in the Indian Police Service , The 1999 judgment commented on how “the influence of the father of the accused has been there”.The CBI appealed the verdict in Delhi High court in 2000, after which the High Court issued a bailable warrant against the accused. In 2006 after much media coverage the case was again prominent. The CBI filed an application for early hearing in July 2006. The High Court subsequently found Santosh Kumar Singh guilty of rape and murder and awarded a death sentence for the same in October 2006.6. Sister Abhaya murder case Sister Abhaya murder case concerns a nun, who was found dead in a water well in Saint Pius X convent hostel on 27 March 1992 in Kottayam, Kerala. Altogether there were five CBI inquiries into the murder case so far without any tangible results.7. Sohrabuddin case CBI has been accused of acting for the ruling party Congress (UPA) to trap its opposition party mainly BJP. CBI, which is dealing with the Sohrabuddin case in Gujarat, questioned Geeta Johri an IPS officer, who claims the CBI is pressuring her to falsely implicate former Gujarat Minister Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, Rajkot Police Commissioner Geeta Johri has alleged in the Supreme Court.8. Malankara Varghese murder case The Malankara Varghese murder case concerns the death of T. M. Varghese also known as Malankara Varghese, a member of Malankara Orthodox Church's managing committee and a timber merchant in 5 December 2002.On 9 May 2010 charged Father Varghese Thekkekara, a priest and manager of the Angamali diocese in the rival Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (a part of the Syriac Orthodox Church) with conspiracy in the murder of Malankara Varghese and named him as the prime accused. Till date, the prime accused has not been arrested, CBI is highly being criticised for this by Kerala High Court and Media.9. Bhopal gas tragedy The public perceived that the CBI was very ineffective in trying the Bhopal gas tragedy case. The former CBI joint director B. R. Lall has now confessed that he was asked to remain soft on extraditing the Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson,and dropped charges, including culpable homicide, against those accused in this case, who received two-year sentences.