The head of a Parliamentary Panel on Law has favoured giving special powers as well as intelligence to a central agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate terror-related cases on its own.
“The main objective of setting up a Federal Crime Agency or reconstituting the CBI as Central Bureau of Intelligence and Investigations is to help prevent terror attacks,” Parliamentary Standing Committee for Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, chairman E M Sudarsana Natchiappan said.
“Giving special powers and full-fledged intelligence system to the CBI will save crucial time lost in transfer of investigation from state police to Central agencies in terror cases,” he said. At present, the CBI steps in only after state governments transfer investigations of such cases to it.
Natchiappan’s comments assume significance in the wake of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent remarks on creation of a federal crime agency to deal with terror attacks. Four days after the Jaipur serial blasts that killed 65 people, prime minister had said the creation of a federal crime agency was the need of the hour as terrorism and several white-collar crimes had inter-state aspects. Natchiappan said the need of the hour was to give special powers, intelligence and proper infrastructure to the CBI to carry out ‘hassle-free investigations’.