Even as the J-K High Court is yet to make up its mind regarding handing over the Shopian double murder case to the CBI,the investigating agency has conveyed its reluctance to the state government. The HC,which was to take on call on continuing with the police investigation or handing the case to the CBI,on Wednesday reserved its order in the Shopian investigation. CBI Spokesperson Harsh Bhal told reporters that the CBI would need the cooperation of witnesses,the help of the general public and the relatives of the deceased in the case. In view of this,it will be difficult for CBI to take over investigations. CBI has conveyed its views to the Jammu and Kashmir Government, he said. While sources said that a team of the Central agency would visit the Valley on Friday,CBI officials were at pains to clarify that the visit entailed a mere assessment of the situation and that the CBI would not like to interfere in the state police investigations unless the case is transferred to it. Meanwhile,the hearing in the J-K HC spanned the entire day with Kashmir Bar Association President Mian Qayoom mounting a strong attack on the alleged partisan conduct of the Agency. We all know what the CBI did in the sex scandal. It saved the very people who it had to book for their involvement in the sex scandal, Qayoom said. He pleaded for continuation of the investigation under the state police as the latter,he said,could be held accountable. With the court monitoring the case,police officers investigating the case could be pulled up for their work. The same cannot be done in case of CBI, he said. The division bench of Chief Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice Yaqoob Mir did not appear to favour the transfer of the case either. When Government counsel Ishaq Qadiri made a case for transferring the case to CBI in the interest of an expeditious investigation,Chief Justice Ghosh told him that the Government should in that case concede that the police had failed to do their job. Justice Ghosh also expressed his displeasure over the destruction of evidence in the case and said there was nothing left for the Central agency to investigate. For what purpose do you want to be referred to CBI when crucial evidence has been lost? he said. While Justice Ghosh said that the J-K Polices Special Investigation Team seems to have done nothing so far,he,nevertheless,asked the government whether the SIT was being permitted to do "what it wanted to do".
