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Minister promises functional autonomy to CBI

The government will ensure ''functional autonomy'' to the Central Bureau of Investigation to check interference in its investigations from ''any quarters,'' Minister of State for Personnel K R Janardhanan said on Tuesday.

The government wanted to ''create an environment where your credibility as an organisation is never suspected,'' Janardhanan said while inaugurating a one-day conference of CBI officers in New Delhi.

Expressing concern over ''serious delays in trials'' of various cases, the minister said he would ensure a review of procedural laws to expedite pending cases.

Outgoing CBI director D R Karthikeyan, in his opening address, said the Bureau was facing a serious shortage of manpower and other resources.

The CBI headquarters was located at six different places in the city, ''giving scope for leakage of information'' relating to sensitive cases.

Some of the offices ''are totally without any security'' and because of the distance between them movement of papers took time, leading to delays, he said.

Lack of adequate manpower had led to further delays. Police officials in states were reluctant to come to the CBI on deputation in the absence of incentives at least on par with what they were already getting, Karthikeyan regretted.

Even promotions were slower in the CBI than in other police organisations, despite the fact that the investigating officers in the Bureau had to work under constant tension due to work pressure and greater accountability.

UNI

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