“Return of the Memons: A Pyrrhic Victory” continues…

Investigating economic offences and large scale scams with intricate webs of financial transactions, sometimes leading up to highly placed bankers, politicians and government officials, is its second area of strength. In sheer comparative terms, investigating what are referred to as ‘special’ crimes in CBI parlance such as cases of murder, suicide, bank robberies, terror etc is the lowest priority. Most importantly, the culture of conducting investigations of such cases, organizing raids on dangerous felons, sitting on watch, conducting surveillance etc are generally not its cup of tea. This is not a criticism but an honest admission of hard reality, as perceived by me, without taking away from the CBI the credit for investigating countless cases of ‘special’ crimes
successfully in the past. But, what is truly enviable and worth emulating by other police forces of the country is CBI’s capacity to prosecute cases of any variety in courts of law. Marshalling of evidence that would stand judicial scrutiny is its USP (Unique Selling Point or Proposition).

I say all this in the context of the Memons’ tale. The mission I had embarked upon was something not up CBI’s alley. It involved a huge risk of things going horribly wrong, something my bosses were not ready for. Therefore, it was generally a hostile environment around me where, more or less, I was on my own. The one person who understood its significance and supported me to the hilt was my Superintendent of Police Satish Jha. He was always there goading me on and reassuring me that success would come. CBI DirectorVijaya Rama Rao was the other person who saw merit in what was being attempted.

The other question bothering lay readers may be: how is our country’s CBI positioned vis-a-vis the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) of Pakistan? The short answer is that there exists no equivalence and the two can’t be compared. ISI is the Dirty Tricks Department of the Government of Pakistan, masquerading as an intelligence agency. It is largely pre-occupied with subversive activities in India and Afghanistan.

To be continued…