Four men held outside house of Alok Verma, who was stripped of charge as CBI chief

The men, in plain clothes, were allegedly caught from the front and back gates of Verma’s high-secure residence at Janpath Road. They had come in two private cars.

Four men allegedly loitering outside the CBI director Alok Verma’s residence were held by his personal security officers (PSOs) on Thursday morning, a police officer said.

Security personnel detain two of the four men outside CBI’s Alok Verma’s residence. (PTI)

The men, Prashant Kumar, Vinit Kumar Gupta, Ajay Kumar and Dhiraj Kumar Singh, identified themselves as officers of the Intelligence Bureau, to the security team, according to the police. They have submitted their identity proofs and government health scheme and Aadhaar cards.

“Identify proofs being carried by the suspects have so far suggested that they are IB officers. We are verifying the authenticity of the documents,” said an officer on condition of anonymity.

The men, in plain clothes, were allegedly caught from the front and back gates of Verma’s high-secure residence at Janpath Road. They had come in two private cars.

“They had been spotted loitering around for a long time since the early hours. They were finally detained after their behaviour aroused suspicion,” said an officer.

The PSOs assigned to Verma are Delhi Police officials.

Madhur Verma, the deputy commissioner of police of the New Delhi district under which Janpath falls, said he had no knowledge about the four men.

“If at all, it will be the security department looking into the case,” he said.

Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana were on Wednesday divested of all responsibilities amid an internal CBI feud. Asthana, who is being investigated on alleged corruption, was removed from all cases by Verma on Tuesday.

In a midnight order, the government handed over interim charge of the CBI to M Nageshwar Rao.