PATNA, Aug 24: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director R C Sharma is expected to file an affidavit before the monitoring bench of Patna High Court, seeking permission to remove CBI joint director U N Biswas and Superintendent of Police V S Kaumudi from the Special Investigating Team probing the Rs 950 crore fodder scam.

Sources said the move comes in the wake of the findings of the A P Dorai Committee. In its report submitted to the Union Home Ministry, the committee had indicted Biswas and Kaumudi for ``overstepping'' their jurisdiction in seeking the Army's help for arresting former chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav. The Dorai report claims that the arrest warrant could have been executed by the administration as the law and order situation was normal in the state.

Incidentally, A P Dorai, Director General of Reserve Police Force, who was in Patna on August 6 and 7 to inquire into the incident could not meet justice S N Jha or justice S J Mukhopadhyaya to ascertain whether he had actually given the permission to the Patna office of CBI to approach the Army for help.

Though Dorai, in his report, mentions that there was no threat to law and order, the affidavit filed by the Director General of Police (DGP) S K Saxena before the Special CBI Court on August 12, revealed that ``any precipitate action would have led to police firing and killing of a large number of people.''

The Special CBI Court judge S K Lal had sought an explanation from DGP to explain why he did not cooperate with the CBI in executing the warrant of arrest. The DGP in his report also mentioned that on July 29, at around 6.30 pm, the Deputy Inspector General CBI R N Kaul had issued orders for Laloo's arrest. At 11.45, Kaul contacted him over the phone seeking adequate security for execution of the warrant of arrest but intelligence reports from the chief minister's residence said a large number of Rashtriya Janata Dal supporters had gathered inside the premises. The DGP also mentioned that he had been to the chief minister's residence in the early hours of July 30 and could see that a large crowd had gathered there. In case the crowd was forcibly evicted, there was a possibility of violence.

In fact, Dorai Committee's findings goes against the observation of state DGP on this count. The committee's observations that CBI has overstepped its limit in approaching the Army for help is not borne by facts. The CBI counsel Rakesh Kumar had already explained the position in his letter dated August 2 to the senior officers of the CBI, including the director R C Sharma. The letter clearly outlines that the move of seeking the Army's help was initiated only after consulting justice S N Jha.

In his letter, Kumar also suggested that an affidavit should be filed before the monitoring court, narrating the whole incident. But the affidavit's draft, which the Patna office of CBI intends to file before the monitoring court in the next hearing on August 29, is yet to be cleared by director Sharma.

A senior CBI official told The Indian Express that Sharma was not willing to file the affidavit.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.