CBI Chief Selection: Modi-led panel shortlists name of 3 officers; final decision tomorrow, say sources

The post of the CBI chief has been lying vacant since January 10 after the unceremonious exit of Alok Verma, who had been engaged in a bitter fight with Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana over corruption charges.

The meeting was held at the prime minister's residence and it that lasted for over an hour. The meeting was attended by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. / GETTY

New Delhi: A high-powered CBI selection committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Friday to decide on the director of the country's premier investigative agency CBI, but the suspense continues as the selection committee could not reach a decision during its second meeting. ABP News sources report that the panel shortlisted that name of three officers for the post and the final decision is likely to come on Saturday. The meeting was held at the prime minister's residence and it that lasted for over an hour. The meeting was attended by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. The panel's January 24 meeting has also remained inconclusive. A list of eligible officers along with their dossiers was shared with the panel members in the last meeting. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court said it was "averse" to the arrangement of an interim CBI Director and the Centre should "immediately" appoint a regular chief of the probe agency. The post of CBI Director is "sensitive" and "important", and it is not good to keep an interim director of the agency for longer period, the top court observed and sought to know as to why the government has not made the appointment yet. The post of the CBI chief has been lying vacant since January 10 after the unceremonious exit of Alok Verma, who had been engaged in a bitter fight with Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana over corruption charges. Both Verma and Asthana had accused each other of corruption. M Nageswara Rao has been working as the interim CBI chief after Verma's ouster. "The government presented names of 70-80 officers. There was no mention of their career details including relevant experience. We (referring to CJI Gogoi) have asked them to provide all the necessary details. The next meeting will be convened may be by next week," Kharge had told reporters after the January 24 meeting. Verma, after being removed from the post of CBI director by the PM-led panel, was named as the Director General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards, a less significant portfolio. Verma did not accept the offer and wrote to the government, saying he should be considered as deemed superannuated as he has completed 60 years age of superannuation on July 31, 2017. He had taken over as the CBI chief on February 1, 2017 for a fixed two-year tenure that ended Thursday. (agency inputs)