Tracking the drugs trail : The CBI alibi
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: February 21, 2013 -

huge consignments of contraband drugs :: Pix - TSE

CBI probe. Music to the ears, definitely.

The Cabinet certainly seems to have mastered the art of playing tunes which may sound pleasing to the ears of the public.

And nowhere has this art been demonstrated so succinctly than the latest decision taken by the Cabinet to hand over cases of drug seizures to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The timing is also perfect, coming as it has amid the uproar caused by the disbandment of the Special Intelligence Unit after the high profile seizure of a huge drug consignment at Tulihal airport on January 11.

The decision of the Cabinet will definitely go a long way in silencing the voice of protests that was raised against the manner in which the SIU was disbanded and its officials transferred.

Amazing. Pushing the boundary of the understanding of the term, pulling wool over the eyes of the public.

Not raising a question over the efficacy of the CBI or its commitment to any task assigned to it, but it should be clear to all that if the State Government is at all sincere and honest in cracking down on the drug barons, then it can do it, within the blink of an eye.

The decision to hand over cases of drug seizure to the CBI will not be anything less than an eyewash, an alibi.

Given this reality, can anyone really expect the CBI to get to the bottom of the matter, especially in matters related to high profile drugs seizures, such as the one at the Tulihal airport.

The efficacy or otherwise of the CBI in investigating cases largely rests on the co-operation and help extended by the local police.

Drug cartels or drug barons cannot operate nor survive without money power and by extension political clout and given this reality, can the CBI really expect to receive any co-operation from the law enforcing agencies here ?

The answer should not be hard to find and given this grim reality, there is no point in glossing over the decision of the Cabinet to hand over cases of drug seizures to the independent investigating agency.

Smuggling, not only drugs, but also other items which may fall in the grey areas, cannot prosper without some sort of a political patronage. This much is true.

Any attempt to nail the big fishes will have to be initiated from within, but who is there to start this ?

In a short while, the Interim Budget session of the Assembly will start and it will be interesting to see whether the manner in which the SIU was disbanded so unceremoniously and whether the numerous, unsolved cases of smuggling, not only drugs, but also other contraband items will be discussed and debated with the intensity and seriousness they deserve or not.

It is not only about the presence of drug barons and smugglers, but about the unholy nexus that runs deep. A nexus that has been institutionalised and taken deep roots. This is what is frightening and disturbing.

If the CBI agrees to take up the cases, then by all means let them investigate. But in the process, the need to be extremely vigilant and to exert pressure on the Government to extend the needed co-operation and help to the agency should not be overlooked.

The agenda of the few powerful, who have increasingly come under the impression that they can get away with blue murder should be defeated at all cost.

This mindset has percolated to all other spheres of life, particularly when it comes anywhere remotely close to the Government.

So instead of law enforcing agencies dispensing with their duty as it is their calling, today it has come to mean serving the interest of the big and powerful.

Political leaders and officials no longer demand performances from their subordinates, but expect them to serve their personal interests and inflate their egos.

The shield of immunity granted to the drug cartels and drug barons is a manifestation of this culture.