CBI wants the boot for 24 'black sheep'

India's best-known anti-bribery agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has two dozen agents of "doubtful integrity" and wants the government to boot them out. Rajesh Ahuja reports. The dirty dozens

India's best-known anti-bribery agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has two dozen agents of "doubtful integrity" and wants the government to boot them out.

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The list of two dozen names has been firmed up by the agency's internal vigilance team that keeps a watch on agency's investigators.

"The officers of 'doubtful integrity' have been transferred to non-sensitive posts as a standard procedure," a CBI officer told HT.

But the agency wants to go further as it does not want any officers under a reasonable suspicion of misconduct in its flock.

"We have written to the department of personnel and training (DoPT) about them and asked them to initiate the process for their removal under the rules," a senior CBI officer added.

Since the officers under a cloud of suspicion are of the rank of deputy superintendent of police and above, government sources said any action against them would be a long-drawn process.

"They are presidential appointees… so a very elaborate and painfully-long process that will involve disciplinary bodies at the level of DoPT, the union public service commission and the central vigilance commission would be involved," the officer said.

"Each case would be dealt with on its merits and a decision taken by the government," he added.

According to government rules, if any officer is convicted in a court on the charge of lack of integrity but rather than being dismissed from service, a penalty is imposed on him/he, then the officer is termed as of doubtful integrity.

Besides, any officer who has been departmentally imposed penalty or such proceedings are on or those who were prosecuted and acquitted on technical grounds but remained under a reasonable suspicion are also termed as of doubtful integrity.

According to CBI sources, transferring these officers to administrative or training departments is also hazardous as they might vitiate the process of administration or the young officers under training.