Courts fail both CBI & Rajeev Kumar; agency steps up hunt

New Delhi: The courts in West Bengal failed both the Central Bureau of Investigation and Rajeev Kumar on Tuesday, as the agency failed to get a non-bailable warrant (NBW) for Kumar's arrest in the Saradha case and the former Kolkata Police Commissioner failed to get anticipatory bail.

The Barasat District court, where both the CBI and Kumar had put in their pleas for an NBW and anticipatory bail respectively, said that the pleas were not maintainable and that these matters are beyond the jurisdiction of the District Judge of North 24 Parganas. The court disposed the pleas, asking both parties to approach the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate.

Earlier in the day, both parties were disappointed with the Special court in Barasat as well, as the trial court had said the same thing about their pleas, directing them to approach the District and Sessions court, as it was a court for MPs and MLAs.

Meanwhile, the CBI has stepped up its hunt for Kumar, who has not been seen since the Calcutta High Court had lifted his protection from arrest, noting that he was still only a witness in the case and not an accused, despite which the CBI pressed for an arrest warrant.

However, the central probe agency's grounds for seeking an arrest warrant was "evasion of summons", with CBI sources saying that Kumar had failed to appear before them despite three summons issued to him in the last three days. "This shows that he is evading the process of investigation by not joining the probe," an official said.

Officials added that special teams have also been constituted to locate the former Kolkata top cop, who is now posted as the ADGP (CID) of West Bengal.

Sources in the know had earlier said that CBI had sent a letter to Kumar's lawyer on Monday, asking his client to appear before agency officials at 10 am on Tuesday. The agency had then approached the trial court for an arrest warrant against him.

Officials also said that they had sent a letter to the chief secretary, home secretary and the DGP of West Bengal, looking to know more about Kumar's location and telling them to ask him to join the probe. The top officials of the state had said that they had communicated the agency's notice to

Kumar, but he is yet to join the probe.

After the Calcutta High Court had lifted Kumar's arrest shield, the CBI had issued a summons to him, following which he had sent a communique asking for one

months' time before joining the probe.

In fact, the CBI had taken the matter to the Supreme Court of India once again, when it filed a caveat on the same day, to prevent Kumar from challenging the High Court order in the Apex Court.