By IANS,
Kolkata : Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday opposed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) plea to close the probe into poet Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel Prize medallion theft and said she would take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“We have come to know that the CBI is trying to close the probe into the Nobel theft case. We’re certainly not happy with this decision,” Banerjee said.
“Today (Sunday) I am going to New Delhi and will meet union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee there. We’ll together discuss the matter and will definitely talk to the prime minister regarding the issue,” she said.
Based on a report from the International Police (Interpol) that it has not arrested any suspect in Bangladesh, the CBI has moved the court seeking permission to close the case for lack of clues.
Banerjee said: “Tagore’s Nobel medallion holds special significance to all Bengalis and we think just because the Interpol has failed to find any clue, we must not stop the investigation procedure.”
“I remember one saying of Swami Vivekananda – ‘Never say no, never say I cannot’. We need to continue the probe and I’ll personally appeal to the government to continue the process.”
The CBI had earlier closed the case in September 2007 saying its investigation was not going anywhere.
However, in September last year the CBI reopened the case after telling the court that it has stumbled upon “vital clues”.
The sensational theft of the medallion and 47 other memorabilia from Rabindra Bhawan at Santiniketan in Bolpur came to light March 25, 2004.