NEW DELHI:In a setback to CBI director Alok Verma , the government has issued orders for extension of tenure of two CBI officers working on crucial cases with special director Rakesh Asthana , with whom Verma is having a rift over administrative issues.

The government issued the order after the Central Vigilance Commission gave the go-ahead for extension of tenure. Sources said a panel headed by central vigilance commissioner K V Chowdary approved the extension.

The development comes days after the CBI wrote to the CVC saying Asthana, a Gujarat cadre IPS officer and second in command in the CBI, could not attend the selection panel’s meeting in Verma’s absence. The CBI director is an invitee to the panel headed by the CVC.

Among those granted extension are two joint directors — AYV Krishna and Sai Manohar Aramane.

The latter is part of a special investigation team, headed by Asthana, handling the politically-sensitive bank fraud case involving Vijay Mallya , officials said. An order issued by DoPT said the competent authority had approved extension of tenure of Aramane, a 1995 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, till April 2019. His batchmate Krishna was given extension till January 17, 2020. The two are believed to be part of the Asthana camp in CBI.

Apart from the two, the government approved extension of tenure of Manish Kishore Sinha from April 3, 2018 to November 30, 2018.

Sinha, a 1996 batch IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, is undergoing training at the National Defence College, officials said. He is a joint director in CBI.

The tenure of another senior IPS officer, Anish Prasad, who was repatriated to his cadre Tripura in May and called back soon after, has also been given extension from June 3, 2018 to May 5, 2020. He is posted as deputy director (administration) in the CBI headquarters. The tenure of IPS officer Prem Kumar Gautam, associated with the coal blocks scam probe, has also been extended, while another officer of the 2007 batch, Abhishek Sandaliya, was inducted for a tenure of four years in the agency.

CBI director Verma has levelled corruption charges against Asthana but these remain “unsubstantiated”, according to the CVC. The government has also rejected the charges.

