CBI chief Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana and several other officers were sent on leave in a dramatic overnight strike by the government in the middle of an extraordinary battle within the country’s top investigating agency.
M Nageswar Rao took over as interim director just after a government order at 1.45 am, which has been challenged by Alok Verma in court.
The Supreme Court will hear the CBI director’s petition on Friday.
Both Alok Verma and Rakesh Asthana were barred from their offices and officers working with the CBI director have been sent on leave. One officer in the director’s team, AK Bassi, has been transferred to Port Blair “in public interest”.
The developments followed a recommendation by the country’s top vigilance officer, Chief Vigilance Commissioner KV Chowdary that the CBI’s warring top two be sent on “compulsory wait”, stripped of all responsibilities.
Sources say Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had summoned both Alok Verma and Rakesh Asthana to discuss the crisis, agreed with the recommendation.
The move follows days of turmoil that began with chief Alok Verma filing a case against his deputy, accusing him of taking Rs. 3 crore as bribe from a businessman being investigated. Rakesh Asthana, denying the charges, told the government that it was his boss who had taken a bribe of Rs. 2 crore from the same businessman. He also sent a 50-page complaint against Alok Verma and his team.