oppn parties Why Is The CBI Allowing Rajeev Kumar To Play Cat And Mouse With It?

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
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Why Is The CBI Allowing Rajeev Kumar To Play Cat And Mouse With It?

By Sunil Garodia

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Why is the CBI moving so hesitatingly in the case of Rajeev Kumar, the former commissioner of Kolkata Police? The man has not appeared before it for two days despite several notices to him directly and to his superiors in the West Bengal police administration, who had promptly asked him to appear before the agency. Ostensibly, he has informed his superiors that he is unable to appear because of "pressing personal reasons" and in a separate email to the CBI, sought a month's time. Why is the agency not moving to arrest him forthwith? It would have not wasted a single day before arresting the accused if he or she was a common man and not as privileged as Rajeev Kumar. Should we then infer that the law is different for the privileged?

While Kumar's lawyers made a mistake in approaching the Barasat Sessions court for anticipatory bail (which rejected it as it had no jurisdiction), it defies logic why the CBI's lawyers approached the same court to obtain an arrest warrant against him. Did they not know that the jurisdiction lay with the Alipore court? How could they be so sloppy?

Rajeev Kumar has been trying to dodge the CBI ever since his name came up for allegedly tampering with or destroying evidence in his possession as the head of the SIT that investigated the Saradha scam. The first time he appeared before the agency was after the Supreme Court directed him to do so. But this time, after the Calcutta High Court withdrew the protection from arrest, Kumar, as a law-abiding citizen, should have appeared before the agency after the notice was served on him. That he chose to ignore the notice and asked for time showed that he has scant respect for the very same law that he is mandated to uphold as an officer in the West Bengal police force.

The CBI should locate Kumar and obtain an arrest warrant to take him into custody. No one, however highly placed, should be allowed to make a mockery of due process. When the Supreme Court did not allow the former finance minister Chidambaram to abuse the process, Kumar will not get relief even if he approaches the apex court. If he is wanted in connection with the ongoing investigations in a case, he is bound to appear before the agency. By delaying, he is only making things more difficult for himself.