The supreme court had castigated the CBI in October for letting the 2G probe dry in its vaults, saying it had "done nothing" for over a year. The agency, after all, had been entrusted with the probe in 2009 while the spectrum stink was raised way back in 2007.

Two months later, the CBI responded with raids against former telecom minister A Raja and promises of a completion of the probe by next March. That it took some caustic remarks from the supreme court to jolt the agency out of its inaction is typical not just of the "autonomous" agency but also of the central government that abuses it for its political ends. Looks like the CBI only turns in some homework only when it is rebuked -- very grade-school-like!

But where it really outdid itself in ineptness is in the aftermath of the court observations. It would seem that the agency heads must be missing brains.How else could you explain the 2G raids? Not only did these come three years too late, they were conducted on the houses of the accused, A Raja, and his coterie. Seriously? Did anybody expect Raja and fanboys to hold on to the loot for this long AND to have stashed it in their houses?

The apex court told the agency bluntly that it was handling the probe in a "slipshod" manner. Maybe the CBI misheard or misread the courtspeak. That was the court's observation, not the way it directed the agency to conduct its probe. It is clearly too late in the day for raids because a raid is quite like an ambush - sprang exactly when it is least expected. But it seems the CBI has not been reading the papers, or watching the TV. In fact, the one agency that should keep itself informed, acted like it had no clue at all. 2G Raja has been a staple headline for months now, the government has been under pressure to act, the opposition  held the Parliament to ransom for weeks, so what sense dictates raids at this stage? All incriminating evidence, if at all hidden in these houses, must have been moved at the first whiff of trouble. Even as incompetent a minister as Raja wouldn't have left skeletons in his closets to be numbered and filed in his courtyard by sleuths!

While some may not fault this stupidity, cronyism is another matter. If raids were the way to go, why did the list end with Raja, his brother, mother-in-law, personal secretary and sundry telecom officials? He has been accused by the comptroller auditor general, all right, but others have been named too by independent watchers. Or is it obvious that the 'autonomous' CBI's slack is being orchestrated from elsewhere?

For all the eyewash raids to save it some grace, this is a watchdog, sans bark, sans bite which turns just some worn tricks if you raise a whip.