Probe agencies being 'abused' by government: Congress
New Delhi, July 23 : The Congress on Monday accused the Narendra Modi government of "misusing" and "abusing" the central investigating agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged political vendetta.
Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha during the Zero Hour, senior Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the "misuse" of central agencies by the government was creating an environment of "distrust, fear and terror in the country".
"The investigating agencies have a role to perform under the laws of the land and the Constitution of the country. They are not instruments to be abused by the government of the day for targeted political vendetta or to persecute senior officials of the government," Sharma said.
He said that parallel proceedings for one alleged offence were being conducted simultaneously by the CBI, ED and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
"Such a thing has never happened ... parallel FIRs. Under the Constitution of India, any citizen has the protection of equality before the law, there cannot be any discrimination. The agencies have to coordinate their functioning, but they cannot create a situation where you have separate FIRs, separate bail provisions, multiple cases for the same alleged offence...," Sharma said.
He said that senior government officials were being harassed by the agencies well after their retirement, by being summoned for investigations.
"This was discussed in the House that there has to be a distinction between bona fide actions and acts of corruption. We are equally concerned that the agencies now as per the reports are going to the extent of forcing people, extracting... The mandate is there but they cannot be abused. Why is the government silent? This is a serious situation," he added.
Interrupting Sharma, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu said that the MPs should not "demoralise the agencies".
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
