In a virtual slap in their face for being unable to track down additional director general of police, CID (ADG CID) Rajeev Kumar, even after over a fortnight of searching for him, the CBI top brass in Delhi has not only dissolved the 12-member special investigation team (SIT) it constituted to track down Kumar but recalled ten members of the SIT to Delhi.

A source close to the agency said that the higher echelons of the premier investigation agency of the country are so irked at the failure of the special investigation team (SIT), comprising officers mainly drawn from UP and Delhi, constituted to track down the former Kolkata police commissioner, who the agency claimed is “untraceable”, that it wound up the SIT and withdrew the ten officers from the investigation with immediate effect.

Kumar has only made himself available twice before the central agency so far, in Shillong in February earlier this year and in May, as against 18 summons issued to him, that too under an interim arrest shield from the apex court and Calcutta High Court as well.

The source claimed that the higher-ups in Delhi were so exasperated over the team’s performance that it was forced to scale down the number of investigators keeping in mind that its credibility is at stake.

Meanwhile, a team of CBI officers today went to Bhawani Bhavan, the state CID headquarters, today in search of elusive Kumar yet again after his sanctioned leave came to an end yesterday.

A source in the agency confirmed that since today was the day, as per the state administration and the DGP’s response to their queries, that Kumar was to rejoin work in his post as ADG, CID at Bhawani Bhavan, the agency went to his office but had to return empty handed. The agency yesterday sent a third letter to the DGP seeking information on the whereabouts of the “elusive” additional director general of CID.

Confirming the move, a source close to the CBI said that a “third letter” had been sent to the DGP seeking information on the “whereabouts” of former city police commissioner.

The CBI on Thursday started making submissions against former Kolkata Police commissioner Rajeev Kumar’s anticipatory bail plea in the Saradha chit fund scam case after the IPS officer’s lawyers concluded their arguments in favour of the prayer.

The CBI lawyer is scheduled to continue his submissions before a division bench, which is hearing the proceedings ‘in-camera’, again on Friday.

Kumar’s lawyers concluded their arguments in favour of his pre-arrest bail prayer earlier in the day before the division bench comprising justices S Munshi and S Dasgupta. Kumar’s counsels had prayed for ‘in-camera’ proceedings in the case which the court agreed to on Wednesday.