(Image source from: CBI identified 2)

The Central Bureau of Investigation has ‘identified’ around 2,200 ‘corrupt’ senior central officers in 2015 and registered cases against 101 of them, said the agency’s director Anil Sinha. The number of cases, registered against “gazette” officers, in 2015 was 94% higher than the corresponding figures for 2014. In 2014, the CBI had registered 52 cases after a similar exercise, which employs physical and technical surveillance, against such officers. As part of its crackdown on “corrupt” officials, the CBI has registered 67 cases in 2015, which was 56% more than the 2014 figure.

Sinha said that “fighting corruption and crime” effectively and in accordance with “correct” procedures has been his topmost priority. “We have given high priority to complete pending investigations. We have filed 1,044 chargesheets in 2015, which is the highest in the last five years,” said Sinha.

“The mood of the people in the country is to fight corruption and crime, if CBI will not side with them, who will? This is what that the CBI is doing as the premier anti-corruption agency,” said Sinha.

In the backdrop of the Bank of Baroda scam involving sending of ` 6,000 crore illegal remittances it is probing, the CBI will also consult the Indian Banks Association to fine-tune a strategy on pre-empting such crimes in future, he said.

"At the cutting edge levels which is — DIG, SP, DySP — the staff crunch is at critical levels. Earlier one official used to handle one case now they are solving three or four cases at a time which is putting pressure on them," he said.

CBI claimed to have achieved phenomenal success as it completed 62 international operations (cases where one part is investigated outside) with 42 fugitives being brought back to face law in the country which is also an increase of 91 percent in 2014 when only 22 such absconders were deported or extradited, Singh, buoyed by the deportation of gangster Chhota Rajan, said.

By Premji