Hawala, fodder scam probes to be completed soon: CBI chief

Investigations into the Jain hawala case will be completed within the ''next two weeks or so'' and the multi-million rupee fodder scam in Bihar will be completed soon, Central Bureau of Investigation Director Joginder Singh said on Friday.

After a three-day visit to Patna and Calcutta on a mission to supervise the progress of investigation into the fodder scam, Singh said that assigning CBI Special Director D R Kartikeyan to probe the fodder case did not suggest loss of confidence in Joint Director Upen Biswas who is handling the case now.

Singh said legal opinion would be sought only after a thorough examination of separate reports from both officers. The Bihar governor would be approached before proceeding against public servants implicated in the scam, he said.

He evaded queries about involvement of any political personality in the affair. He had visited Patna after the designated court had hinted at his tardiness in responding to notices and his apparent lack of interest in the fodder scam case.

Singh said 1,702 cases were now pending with the CBI for investigation. Of these, 202 cases have been referred to the agency by the Supreme Court and various high courts last year. The CBI was short-staffed, with 800 posts still vacant, he said, pointing out that to identify a suitable person and training them properly took time, delaying the recruitment process further, he said.

He strongly refuted the allegation that former prime minister H D Deve Gowda used the CBI to fabricate cases against Congress leaders and thus blackmail the party. The CBI did not yield to any political pressure, he said, adding that it acted only on formal government orders.

Three cases, he said, were pending against former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and that no allegation had been received by the CBI about corruption on the part of Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet or any other Left leader. Although a probe was on about the role of some political leaders in scams, the CBI was not inquiring into the assets of any political party, Singh said.

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