On why CBI must go rural

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appears to be missing the woods for the trees if the ongoing probe involving MP Padamsinh Patil is anything to go by.

On why CBI must go rural

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appears to be missing the woods for the trees if the ongoing probe involving MP Padamsinh Patil is anything to go by.

Investigations into the murder of whistle blower Pawanraje Nimbalkar in 2006 could just be the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of people like Nimbalkar get murdered in the villages each year for challenging corrupt local sugar mill owners or trustees of the farmers' cooperative. In most cases, the local police do not even register a case, leave alone call the CBI to probe the murder. They simply declare it as a case of internal rivalry or dacoity.

The villages are the fiefdom of the sugar mill owner or trustee. The poverty stricken relatives, who are dependent on the sugar mill owner for their daily wages, are too scared to protest.

The money siphoned from the cooperatives is used to build educational institutions in and around cities such as Mumbai and Pune. The government provides land at concessional rates for building schools and colleges but the concessions are never passed on to the poor students. This way, the corrupt netas mint money in enormous proportions.

The life of any Nimbalkar who dares to raise questions is in danger. No politician wants to touch this hornet's nest as most of them own an educational institution in and around their villages.

u00a0Nimbalkar's murder too would have lost its momentum had it not been for social activist Anna Hazare. Not to forget the political overtones in the light of the forthcoming assembly elections. But this is very rare. Most of the time, the sugar cooperative manages to manipulate the police from the corridors of Mantralaya. Until one day, an upright IPS officer dares to challenge them on their own turf.

Nobody expects the CBI to investigate each and every murder. But justice in a few cases could send the right signals to the poor villagers.