Sleuths set to fight for right to probe Tagore medallion

It's elementary , says the CBI, a case handed to it can't be snatched away . The central investigating agency is gearing up to take on the Bengal government as the state takes the who-to-probe-whodunit case over the stolen Nobel medallion of Rabindranath Tagore to the court.
The state moved the Calcutta High Court last week, seeking transfer of the case to the CID.The court on Tuesday questioned the CBI's unwillingness to hand over the case to the state agency .

CBI sources told ET that the central agency will file an affidavit next week to oppose the transfer.

The medallion was stolen from Santiniketan in 2004 and the CBI took over the case later on. It closed the case in 2007, reopened it in 2008 and again closed it in 2009, but the gold honour could not be recovered. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been vocal since long that her police were capable of bringing it back if they could probe. But, the Centre refused to relent.

While the state and the CBI battle it out in the court, political observers see this development as Mamata's effort to portray the CBI as a slave in the hands of the party in power at the Centre. It would be a major setback for the CBI if the case is shifted to the CID, said an expert.

According to sources, the CBI will list its reasons for opposition on legal grounds. “The case was handed over to the CBI with the consent of the state government. The consent, once given, cannot be revoked. If the state government or its agencies receive any information regarding the case, it should be shared with the central agency probing the matter,“ said a senior CBI official from Delhi.

Mamata is sniffing political vendetta in the functioning of the CBI. A close aide of the chief minister said the agency has been hounding Trinamool Congress leader in various chit fund scam cases but is failing to solve such a case that has attracted the global attention.