CBI counsels caution in Narada inquiry

TT, Calcutta, March 22: The CBI brass inquiring into the "politically sensitive" Narada pay-off case today instructed members of the probe team to be cautious during the investigation.

The caveat came on a day Calcutta High Court rejected an anticipatory bail plea of Manoj Kumar, the senior Enforcement Directorate who was probing into the Rose Valley scam was sucked into a controversy for his alleged links with accused Gautam Kundu's actress wife Subhra.

"During Saradha probe, there were several demonstrations outside CGO office (where the CBI team is stationed) at Salt Lake. We don't want a repeat of such shows this time," said a CBI officer who didn't want to be named.

"This is a politically sensitive case. There will be top level monitoring from the headquarters. So, team members can't afford to be casual during the probe," the officer added.

The case deals with tapes that show images resembling several Trinamul politicians accepting cash from a man posing as an agent of a company keen to set up projects in Bengal.

With the Supreme Court extending deadline for submitting a preliminary enquiry report into the sting operation by a month, CBI officers have realised that they will now have to work extensively, and most of it will be based out of Calcutta.

"In the intervening weeks, CBI officers don't want any slip of sorts that could send out an impression that the agency is working with any agenda and trigger political movements by the ruling Trinamul," said an insider.

While going through the tapes, the investigators have realised that almost all leaders whose images allegedly feature in the narada video are very powerful and yield a lot of clout in their respective areas - from Tamluk in East Midnapore to Calcutta Port.

The investigators today held a meeting with senior officers in New Delhi to discuss the case.