CBI feud: DSP AK Bassi, investigating officer in Rakesh Asthana case, transferred

NEW DELHI: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday transferred CBI DSP AK Bassi who was probing the case against Spl Director Rakesh Asthana. He was transferred to Port Blair in "public interest" with "immediate effect". The move comes after the Central Government appointed Joint Director M Nageshwar Rao as the interim Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and divested CBI Director Alok Verma, Spl Director Rakesh Asthana of all powers by sending them on leave. A new team headed by Satish Dagar has also been formed by Nageshwar Rao to impartially investigate bribery allegations against Alok Verma and Rakesh Asthana. SP Satish Dagar and Joint Director V Murugesan will be part of the team. The prime minister-led Appointments Committee in an order gave charge of the Director to Joint Director M Nageshwara Rao on Tuesday. CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma had challenged the Centre's decision sending him on leave. Verma also challenged the decision to give interim charge of the agency to Joint Director M Nageshwar Rao and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the matter on October 26. Opposition parties slammed the government for CBI transfers. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) asked the reasons for sending the CBI director on leave where Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted "Is there a co-relation between Rafale deal and removal of Alok Verma? Was Alok Verma about to start investigations into Rafale, which cud become problem for Modi ji?" Earlier, CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana had accused the agency's chief, Alok Kumar Verma, of trying to "falsely implicate" him in a bribery case to "hide" his own alleged criminal misconduct of influencing investigations in lieu of money. List of officers who have been transferred or posted -

• CBI DIG Manish Kumar Sinha,
• Additional SP, CBI, SS Gum
• DIG Taurn Gauba,
• DIG Jasbir Singh,
• DIG Anish Prasad,
• DIG KR Chaurasia,
• HoB Ram Gopal
• SP Satish Dagar
• CBI's JD (P)Arun Kumar Sharma,
• A Sai Manohar,
• HoZ V Murugesan
• DIG Amit Kumar

What is CBI Vs CBI Feud? Earlier in the week, an FIR was filed by the CBI against special director Rakesh Asthana for allegedly accepting a bribe from a businessman, who was related to controversial meat exporter Moin Akhtar Qureshi case. Asthana was heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Qureshi's case. The Delhi High Court Tuesday directed the CBI to maintain status quo on the criminal proceedings initiated against the agency's Special Director Rakesh Asthana and a trial court sent an arrested mid-level officer Deputy Superintendent of Police Devender Kumar facing bribery charges to seven-day remand, as the unprecedented internecine battle between the two top officers of the CBI entered the judicial arena. During the court hearing, the CBI also submitted that charges of extortion and forgery were added against Asthana and Devender Singh, a Deputy Superintendent police of CBI who was arrested on Monday by the agency for allegedly taking bribe and falsification of records. The high-voltage drama involving Asthana and his boss Alok Verma, the CBI Director, also provided more fodder to the Congress and other opposition parties to target the Centre which was accused of "destroying the country's institutions".