CBI official's transfer may impact Bihar shelter home probe: Opposition

Patna, Aug 22: Opposition parties alleged that the transfer of a senior CBI official probing the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal case may impact the investigation, a charge denied by ruling alliance partners JD(U) and BJP in Bihar.

"So, after Bihar Governor, CM Nitish also got CBI SP transferred," RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav tweeted, attaching a document, which he said was a CBI transfer order for JP Mishra, Special Crime Branch SP, who was part of the team probing the Muzaffarpur case.

Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik was yesterday appointed as governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The RJD has been attacking Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over some letters that Malik had written to him recently expressing concern over the case.

Devendra Singh, Superintendent of Police (SP) at Anti Corruption Bureau, Lucknow, has been given the additional charge of the SCB in Patna, as per the order copy tweeted by Yadav. The CBI had last month taken over the inquiry into the alleged sexual abuse of girl inmates at government-funded shelter home at Muzaffarpur.

Opposition RJD-Congress combine alleged that the transfer was a result of political interference with a view to influence the probe. However, the ruling JD(U)-BJP alliance in Bihar rubbished the charge as a prejudiced view. They also challenged the opposition parties to move court if they had problems with the administrative reshuffle within the probe agency.

The Congress also questioned the transfer with its MLC Prem Chand Mishra telling a news channel that one can understand that reshuffles do happen, but the timing raises many questions. It is certain that J P Mishra's transfer at such a critical juncture would affect the investigation, he claimed.

However, JD(U) MLC and spokesman Neeraj Kumar asked why was the RJD issuing statements in the media and expressing concerns on Twitter. If it feels that the transfer is a cause for concern, it should move the court, he said.

The RJD should learn from the Nitish Kumar government, which had set an example by first recommending a CBI inquiry and thereafter, requesting the Patna High Court to monitor the probe, the JD(U) spokesman said. Tejashwi and other RJD leaders make so many rounds of courts seeking relief for their party supremo Lalu Prasad, who is convicted in a number of fodder scam cases.

They can certainly approach the court on this issue if their concerns are genuine, he said sarcastically. BJP spokesman Rajib Ranjan also criticised the opposition parties' stance, asking how did they know that the probe will be adversely affected.

The new officer may end up doing better than his predecessor. Why are they taking such a prejudiced view of an administrative exercise, he said. It appears that the opposition parties are feeling unsettled by the pace at which the investigation has proceeded.

They are, therefore, trying to divert public attention by raising irrelevant questions, the BJP leader said.

PTI