Government curtails Rakesh Asthana, 3 top officers' tenure in CBI with immediate effect

Meanwhile , the Supreme Court has agreed to hear next week a plea by an NGO challenging the January 10 order of the government appointing IPS officer M Nageswara Rao as interim director of the CBI. The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi.

Rakesh Asthana

New Delhi: In a major development on Thursday evening, the tenure of CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana and three other controversial officers were curtailed with immediate effect by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. According to the official order, the other three officers are -- Joint Director Arun Kumar Sharma, Deputy Inspector General Manish Kumar Sinha and Superintendent of Police Jayant J Naiknavare. The move comes a week before PM Narendra Modi-led high-powered Selection Committee’s meeting that will appoint a new CBI Director. The curtailment is seen as a bid to cleanse the premier investigative agency, enhance its credibility and improve its professional functioning after being mired in corruption scandals in the past few months. Sinha is accused of illegally tapping phone of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. Sinha had claimed earlier that Doval interfered in the investigations against Rakesh Asthana. Meanwhile , the Supreme Court has agreed to hear next week a plea by an NGO challenging the January 10 order of the government appointing IPS officer M Nageswara Rao as interim director of the CBI. The matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. The apex court had on January 8 allowed Alok Kumar Verma to return as the CBI director, albeit with his wings clipped, by setting aside the Centre and the CVC's orders divesting him of his powers and sending him on leave. On January 10, the high-powered committee removed Verma as the CBI Director. The same day, an order was issued by the government giving Rao the charge of interim CBI director. He was appointed Director General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards. Verma, however, refused to take up the new post, saying he had already superannuated from the police service. (With additional information from PTI) ABP NEWS is a free to air channel. To watch ABP NEWS as part of your basic pack, contact your cable/DTH operator.