State, CBI pass the buck on interim probe report

Admitting that the Adarsh scam probe is proceeding at a snail’s pace, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Tuesday that the state government demanded an interim report on the probe from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) but the agency, in turn, expected the state-appointed judicial commission to submit its own interim report to the Centre.

Admitting that the Adarsh scam probe is proceeding at a snail’s pace, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Tuesday that the state government demanded an interim report on the probe from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) but the agency, in turn, expected the state-appointed judicial commission to submit its own interim report to the Centre.

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The Adarsh housing society scam broke last year, following which the CBI and then two-member judicial commission started their probes independently. Several politicians, serving and retired bureaucrats and defence officials are accused in the scam.

Chavan said that the CBI primarily investigated into the ownership of the Adarsh land. “But since the CBI extended its ambit, it needed more to time to probe. In fact, we asked the agency for its interim report on the probe progress but they asked the state commission for its report,” said Chavan.

The CM did not specify whether the state commission would give its interim report to the CBI.