Bengaluru: The meltdown in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - India’s topmost investigating agency - and the sudden change of guard in the wee hours of October 23 is not new to the former special director of the CBI Rupak Kumar Dutta, who had suffered no less ignominy at the hands of ‘powers that be’ despite being the most deserving officer then to occupy the office of director, CBI.
An IPS officer of the 1981 batch, Dutta was then the seniormost officer and had more than 18 years of experience with the CBI. He had handled sensitive assignments like the investigation into 2G spectrum allotment, coal block allocations and AgustaWestland scam.
A little more than 48 hours before he was to be elevated as the director, CBI on December 2, 2016, Dutta received a fax from the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) at 8pm on November 29, while he was still in office that he has been transferred and posted as special secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs (Internal Security).
A stunned Dutta spoke to his senior and then director CBI, Anil Sinha, who was superannuating on December 2. There was no buzz on Dutta’s removal from the CBI earlier. The high level committee to select the CBI director comprising the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and Leader of the Opposition had not met for reasons best known. Dutta was left in the cold with no word from the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) either, which has superintendence over the CBI and has been mandated to look into the appointment and removal of officers in the CBI by the Supreme Court.
“No questions were asked by the Central Vigilance Commission , which is now actively looking into the ongoing CBI fracas. The CVC should have looked into the reasons of my removal but there was not a word from them,” Dutta told this newspaper.
With no one to hand over the charge Dutta penned his relieving letter from the CBI and handed it over to Sinha on the day the latter was to step down from office. On December 2, 2016 Dutta joined the MHA as special secretary, Internal Security reportedly for a “special assignment; to look into terrorist funding,” which was to be revealed later.
Meanwhile, the government elevated the then additional director, CBI - Rakesh Asthana – a 1984 batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre as acting director of the premier agency on December 2, 2016. Asthana had presided over the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the Godhra-Sabarmati Express carnage. His appointment and the removal of Dutta was challenged by senior advocate Prashant Bhushan in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court wherein he sought the quashing of Asthana’s appointment on grounds of alleged “violation of guidelines on the appointment” and violation of Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013. In response to the PIL the government reportedly responded that Dutta’s experience was required to investigate on extremely sensitive matters such as terrorist funding and hence his appointment to the MHA was necessary.
Two months later Dutta was repatriated to Karnataka - his cadre state on January 31, 2017 on the request of the then chief minister Sidddaramaiah to the Centre to relieve him for appointment as the state’s next director and inspector general of police. “If his appointment to the MHA was so required for a special assignment then why did the Centre agree to let him go in two months time?” asked an officer on condition of anonymity.
