NEW DELHI: The internal war within India’s premier investigative agency, the CBI , escalated on Monday with the arrest of DSP Devender Kumar, who, along with special director Rakesh Asthana , has been accused of taking Rs 3 crore in bribes from businessman Sathish Babu Sana.The action against Kumar, whose office was searched by the agency, was seen as a declaration of intent by CBI director Alok Verma to take the FIR against his rival Asthana to its logical culmination and as a pointer to the sordid lengths to which the factional blood-letting might go.The agency has named Asthana as accused number one in its FIR registered on October 15 on the basis of a complaint from Sana, promoter of Playboy Club in Hyderabad. Another accused in the case, Dubai-based investment banker Manoj Prasad, has already been arrested. The repercussions of the strife will travel beyond what happens to the combatants; it has opened a bloody sore at the heart of the government.Besides threatening to chip at its claim of strong and decisive governance, it raises questions about the fate of sensitive cases being handled by Asthana, like the ones against Vijay Mallya and the AgustaWestland scam. The matter was already causing concern to the government and there were indications that NSA Ajit Doval might be asked to look at the facts.Asthana was said to be exploring legal options in the face of what sources close to him termed a “vicious effort” by Verma and other factional rivals, as well as a few working for other agencies, to thwart him from becoming the CBI chief by “framing” him in a “false corruption case”.The CBI was yet to show recovery of the bribe amount that DSP Kumar and Asthana allegedly extorted from Sana. As reported earlier, Sana was being probed by an SIT led by Asthana for a suspicious transaction of Rs 50 lakh with Moin Qureshi, a meat exporter accused in a money-laundering case. During its investigation, the SIT chanced upon evidence of alleged payment of bribe of Rs 2 crore to the CBI chief by Sana with the help of a Rajya Sabha member belonging to a regional party.Asthana communicated this to the CVC on August 24. On September 26, Sana allegedly admitted, in a statement before Kumar, to paying a Rs 2 crore bribe to the CBI chief. But in a dramatic turn of events just 19 days later, the CBI registered an FIR against Asthana for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 3 crore from Sana, whom he wanted to arrest.On Monday, CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said Sana’s statement against Verma was fabricated by Kumar as an “afterthought” to substantiate the charge that Asthana levelled against Verma in his complaint to the CVC.CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal stressed on Monday that Sathish Babu Sana. was not in Delhi on September 26, the day when he purportedly admitted to DSP Devender Kumar that he had paid a bribe to CBI chief Verma — an assertion which meant the CBI has given a clean chit to Verma. Sources close to Asthana, however, claimed that there was strong evidence of the Rajya Sabha MP meeting Verma to organise help for Sana.Some in the agency expressed surprise over Asthana being named in the FIR based on Sana’s statement when the latter was already being investigated for bribery, and when there was no evidence of any contact between him, in person or through phone or email, and Asthana. Asked why the agency didn’t take permission from the government as per Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the CBI said the provision didn’t apply in this case.The CBI also refused to comment on Asthana’s allegations against additional director A K Sharma’s family members running shell companies, saying the CVC was looking into the case. The clash between Verma and Asthana has festered for over a year now since Verma first opposed Asthana’s elevation as special director, which was turned down by the CVC, the government and the Supreme Court.Over the last 6-7 months, important cases handled by Asthana have been taken away from him while the CBI’s special unit has been reportedly unleashed on Asthana and his subordinates. In one of the letters written to the cabinet secretary on August 24, Asthana had claimed that “there have been concerted attempts by Verma, Rajeshwar Singh (joint director of the Enforcement Directorate ) and others to tarnish” his image.Verma is also learned to have given adverse remarks in Asthana’s performance report. Asthana alleged that this was being done to “adversely affect my career prospects”.