The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will hand over to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) on Monday all files and documents required to inquire into allegations levelled against its director Alok Verma by his deputy Rakesh Asthana, officials familiar with the development said.
The CVC is likely to examine more than a dozen key CBI officials including Verma, Asthana, joint directors Arun Kumar Sharma and A Sai Manohar, deputy inspector general Manish Sinha, superintendent of police Jagroop Gusinha, deputy superintendents of police Ajay Bassi and Devendra Kumar and inspector Ashwini Gupta, the officials added.
The CVC ordered that Verma be divested of his responsibilities as CBI chief on Tuesday, saying the agency under him was not cooperating to find the truth about Asthana’s allegations.
On Friday, the Supreme Court, while hearing a petition by Verma challenging the move to divest him of all responsibilities as CBI chief, asked the CVC to complete its probe within two weeks.
Asthana in a representation to cabinet secretary Pradeep Sinha on August 24 alleged 10 instances of interference in probes carried out by him and other cases of misconduct by Verma. Sinha on August 30 forwarded this complaint to the CVC as the vigilance body has superintendence over the CBI in corruption probes carried out by it. The CVC issued three notices on September 11 by summarising Asthana’s allegations under three broad categories. The CVC said despite notices and reminders the CBI did not hand over the documents on one pretext or another. After Friday’s Supreme Court order, the CBI will provide all documents and files by Monday.
“The CVC has been given a very short period of two weeks to complete the inquiry. The CBI has been asked to provide all the files and documents by Monday. The files and documents may run into thousands of pages and they all have to be scrutinised. The CVC is running against time if it has to complete the probe within the stipulated time,” said a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}“The CVC has been given a very short period of two weeks to complete the inquiry. The CBI has been asked to provide all the files and documents by Monday. The files and documents may run into thousands of pages and they all have to be scrutinised. The CVC is running against time if it has to complete the probe within the stipulated time,” said a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
{{/usCountry}}When contacted, CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said: “The agency will follow the Supreme Court order in letter and spirit.”
Following the scrutiny of all the documents and files, the CVC will call all principal characters in the feud at the top in the CBI for examination.