The DSP of CBI Devender Kumar (in blue shirt) in court after being arrested. Apparently, the current battle between the two top officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has its roots in the Prime Minister’s Office, and the top echelons of the government believe that only PM Narendra Modi’s intervention can bring an end to this turf war. Two groups in the PMO, both jostling for supremacy in South Block, are quietly but firmly supporting the two officers — CBI director Alok Verma, a 1979-batch AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories)-cadre IPS officer, and the agency’s special director Rakesh Asthana, a 1984-batch IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre. While National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is said to be backing Verma, Asthana has the support of retired Gujarat cadre IAS officer P.K. Misra, currently additional principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to maintain status quo in the ongoing probe involving agency’s Special Director Rakesh Asthana and granted him interim protection from arrest till Monday.
The ‘status quo’ is generally referred to the existing state of affairs or circumstances, and now, both sides involved in the dispute are prevented from taking any action until the next date of hearing.
Justice Najmi Waziri directed the CBI to file response to agency’s Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Devender Kumar’s plea seeking quashing of First Information Report (FIR). The court listed the matter for further hearing on October 29.
Asthana’s lawyer and Senior advocate Amarendra Sharan pleaded to grant an interim stay to the proceedings against the special director as he fears arrest because Kumar has been arrested in the case. He insisted the court issue direction to CBI not to take coercive steps against Asthana.
“Don’t disturb the equilibrium,” the court said.
However, it refused to grant a stay on the probe and said that the case is of a serious nature.
The court directed Asthana to ensure safe custody of all electronic records.
Asthana and Kumar have requested the court to call documents related to the case.
Asthana’s counsel told the court that the case was registered in an illegal manner with malafide intention.
The case is based on the complaint of businessman Sathish Sana, who is a suspect in another corruption case against meat exporter Moin Qureshi. Asthana wanted custodial interrogation of Sathish Sana, Asthana’s counsel said.
Countering the allegations, CBI said that charges against Asthana are serious and the investigating agency is likely to add more offences in the FIR.
Asthana told the court as per Section 17A, which was newly inserted after the 2018 amendment to Prevention of Corruption Act, prior sanction was necessary for investigation against a serving officer.
He also told the court that no sanction has been issued by the competent authority, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
The CBI sought time to file a detailed reply on the Asthana and Kumar’s pleas which was allowed by the court. The court also asked Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and CBI Director Alok Verma to file a response on the plea.
Meanwhile, a local court allowed the CBI to quiz arrested agency’s official Kumar till October 30.
Kumar was arrested on Monday for fabricating documents in the bribery allegations case against Asthana. Meat exporter Moin Qureshi, who is facing multiple cases of money laundering and corruption, had paid a bribe to get a case against him settled, the agency said.
Early in the morning, Kumar approached the High Court and told the bench that in spite of an excellent record in probing cases, he has been made a scapegoat in the matter. He said he has been implicated in a false and frivolous case.
Kumar termed the FIR against him as a shocking state of affairs and called the complaint against him illegal and malafide.
According to the CBI, Kumar fabricated the statement of Sathish Sana, a witness in the Qureshi case, showing he recorded the statement on September 26 in Delhi. However, the investigation revealed that Sana was not in Delhi on that day. He was in Hyderabad and joined the investigation only on October 1.
Kumar’s arrest comes a day after the CBI registered an FIR against Asthana, Kumar and two others. The CBI has alleged that bribes were taken at least five times in December 2017 and October 2018.
Asthana, a 1984 batch Indian Police Service officer of the Gujarat cadre, is accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore from a businessman who was being investigated in the Qureshi case in order to “wreck” the investigation. The case was being examined by a special investigation team (SIT) headed by Asthana.
The CPI-M has blamed Modi government’s bid to undermine India’s democratic foundations for the CBI’s “internal war” and alleged that Special CBI Director Rakesh Asthana — who has been booked for alleged corruption — was pushed into the agency to subvert investigations against BJP leaders.
Taking to Twitter, Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said Asthana “patronised by the BJP and handpicked by Modi”, was pushed into our premier investigation agency despite opposition to his entry only to subvert ongoing investigations and stop all cases against BJP leaders.
“If this official (Asthana) is now caught ‘fabricating’ documents and taking bribes, should his political patrons in BJP not be asked tough questions too?” Yechury asked.
Observing that a number of “compromised officials with dubious records” have been inducted into top agencies under the Modi regime, Yechury said the role of top BJP leadership in “damaging and destroying” the country’s institutions was unparalleled in India’s history.
“That is not just due to poor governance. But it is due to malafide intention to target political opposition and save their own under investigation,” he said.
“That the CBI is particularly under the spotlight should not surprise us.
“After all, it was the agency investigating the Bharatiya Janata Party President (Amit Shah) for a very serious charge. No prizes for guessing how and why his name was ‘cleared’ under a dark cloud,” said Yechury referring to Shah who was indicted for murder and arrested in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case in July 2010.
Shah was subsequently discharged by a special CBI court in December 2014 months after the Modi-led BJP came to power at the Centre.
Later in a statement, the CPI-M said the recent happenings within the CBI reflected the degree of damage caused by Modi government to constitutional authorities and institution of parliamentary democracy.
“The undermining of Parliament itself, interference in the judiciary, manipulations of institutions like the CBI are not due to poor governance but due to malafide intentions to undermine the secular democratic foundations of the constitution,” it said.
The RSS-BJP must be stopped from creating further damage to our country’s constitutional order,” said the party calling upon the people to build up resistance.
Asthana was brought to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2016 after the NDA came to power in 2014 and was tipped to head the agency.
Hailing from Gujarat cadre, he had supervised the probe into the 2002 Godhra tragedy as Inspector General of Police, Vadodara range.
Asthana’s elevation to the top post had evoked sharp reactions from the opposition following which he made way for Alok Verma.
Yechury took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose “hand-picked” Special CBI Director Rakesh Asthana was “caught red-handed” he said, as the probe agency registered a graft case against one of its own.
“The official patronised by the BJP and handpicked by Modi was pushed into our premier investigation agency despite opposition to his entry only to subvert ongoing investigations and stop all cases against BJP leaders.
“He has now been caught red-handed,” the Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary tweeted.
“Who patronised this official (Asthana) in his career? Who handpicked him for CBI despite strong opposition by the Director? If this official is now caught “fabricating” documents and taking bribes, should his political patrons in BJP not be asked tough questions too? What is their role,” Yechury asked?
The Congress also held Narendra Modi solely responsible for “dismantling, denigrating and destroying” the CBI and accused him and BJP chief Amit Shah of “perpetually misusing” the central probe agency.
The Congress also raised questions over “Modi summoning” CBI director Alok Kumar Verma and Research and Analysis Wing chief Anil Dhasmana to his residence on Monday hours after the CBI arrested its Deputy Superintendent Devendra Kumar in connection with the case against Asthana.
“Was it to influence the ongoing corruption investigation against CBI and RAW officers?,” asked Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Apart from Asthana, the CBI has also named Samant Kumar Goel, Special Director of India’s external intelligence agency RAW.
Surjewala said “habitual and perpetual misuse” of CBI by Modi and Amit Shah in fixing political opponents and illegal intervention to tamper with the fair investigation of serious criminal cases has landed the CBI in an unfathomable mess, eroding its independence and credibility.
“The entire nation is looking for a fair, impartial and independent investigation of the serious charges of corruption involving senior-most officers of CBI and RAW,” he said.
Surjewala said it was also required to investigate as to who in the current political dispensation was involved in the entire saga and is attempting to shield the accused involved in the matter.
Citing Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan getting a clean chit in the Vyapam Scam as well as the escape of fraudsters Nirav Modi Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya out of the country, the Congress alleged the Modi government was influencing the CBI.
The Congress accused Modi of “systematically demolishing” the independent architecture of all premier agencies including CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA)
“These agencies are being used as captive puppets in converting them to dirty tricks department of the BJP,” added Surjewala. (IANS)