CBI selective under Modi’, protecting the powerful

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi/ India’s premier investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation, on Monday raided the residence of NDTV co-founders, Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy. The case against Roys is that some eight years ago a private bank, ICICI, settled a loan that they had taken on much lower interest rates than otherwise applicable, thereby causing a loss of Rs 48 crore to the bank. No one is above the law, NDA minister Venkaiah Naidu, claimed. But is that really so?

Does the CBI, under Narendra Modi’s government, make no concessions when it comes to dealing with corruption or criminal misdemeanours of powerful people?Far more substantive allegations of corruption than those made against the Roys have been pending with the CBI for many years. Last year, 40 of India’s biggest energy companies were investigated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for the over-invoicing of imported coal and in the process siphoning off thousands of crores of public money outside the country.

In March 2016, the DRI, after a year-long investigation, sent an alert to 50-odd customs establishments all over India detailing the modus operandi of the over-invoicing of imports of coal from Indonesia by power companies. The DRI claimed that electricity-generating companies were availing of “higher tariff compensation based on the artificially inflated cost of the imported coal.” The scam was estimated at over Rs 30,000 crore.

Among those under the scanner were six firms belonging to the Adani group. two firms part of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group led by Anil Ambani. two companies of the Essar group promoted by the Ruia family and JSW Steel Ltd, a company promoted by Sajjan Jindal.