CBI vs CBI: Tarun Gauba, officer who gave MP CM clean chit in Vyapam scam, to investigate allegations against Rakesh Asthana In the latest twist to the CBI slugfest, 13 officers have been transferred. CBI director Alok Verma has been sent on leave, so has Rakesh Asthana. The CBI officer probing Asthana has been transferred to Port Blair. DIG Tarun Gauba will probe corruption complaints against special director Rakesh Asthana.

Narendra Modi

Sterling Biotech

Alok Verma

Central Vigilance Commissioner KV Chowdary

M Nageshwar Rao appointed interim CBI chief with immediate effect Due to to an internal war going on within the agency, M Nageshwar Rao on Wednesday was appointed as the interim Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director with immediate effect. The Appointments Committee of the Cabin (ACC) has sent CBI director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana on leave.

Moin Qureshi

Rafale scam

CBI Director Alok Verma, Special Director Rakesh Asthana sent on leave CBI Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana have been sent on leave amid an ongoing spat between them, sources said, calling it the first such case in the history of the agency.

ByIt is just a case of the CBI chief calling out a senior officer suspected of illegalities.The juice vendor across the road from the CBI headquarters who served an unusually tall glass of juice this morning may have had sufficient reasons for it. His usual customers could be suspects emerging after hours of questioning and sufficiently thirsty to gulp down such copious amount of juice. On Wednesday, many of us who struggled with the juice quantity were not suspects, but mere witnesses staring at the CBI’s glass headquarters, where the latest Orwellian drama of Indian democracy was playing out. There is such a sickening monotony to such assaults that many on that road seemed to pay no heed to the drama.The previous night, the CBI chief was dramatically thrown out, his office sealed, and several officers dispersed from its headquarters. Most of the mainstream narrative, prompted by the government or otherwise, managed to paint the events of recent days as an ego clash between the senior most two officers of CBI. This narrative, like most dished out by the mainstream media and propagandists in recent times, is outright false.Rakesh Asthana, a 1984 IPS officer from Gujarat cadre, was brought into the CBI afterbecame the Prime Minister. Even as Asthana was wielding unusual power in CBI, his name cropped up in the documents recovered from the premises of, whose promoters have now fled India after defaulting on loans worth over Rs 5,000 crore. Sandesaras of Sterling Biotech, their diary entries show, had extended several favours to Asthana, including hosting a wedding in his family.In the recent times evidence also emerged of Asthana’s dubious conduct in several other cases. Almost half a dozen corruption cases are under probe against Asthana presently.In the light of such evidences, CBI chiefopposed the elevation of Asthana to the post of special director of CBI. However, the committee headed by theoverruled the CBI chief and promoted Asthana.With his political connections in full flow, Asthana continued to bully around in CBI. He compiled a list of officers for CBI postings, further pushing Alok Verma to write to CVC saying that Asthana will not be representing CBI in meetings. Verma also pointed out that several officers recommended by Asthana were facing criminal cases.The latest dirt on Asthana came in the case of, a meat exporter who has been under the scanner of investigation agencies for years. A few days ago, a Hyderabad based businessman involved in the Qureshi case, Sana Satish, claimed that he paid huge bribes to CBI officers, including Asthana, to settle his case.Verma ordered FIR against Asthana, and CBI arrested one of its DSP rank officers, Devender Kumar, who is accused of forging documents to implicate CBI chief Verma.Meanwhile, Asthana wrote to the CVC, detailing several allegations against the CBI chief. This complaint has significantly informed the CVC’s recommendation on Tuesday for forcing Verma out of office.The entire fight in CBI was not any ego clash between two senior officers, but the CBI chief trying to act against a senior officer suspected of illegal actions. Verma’s own morality and legal conduct is for a separate inquiry. It cannot be mixed up with Asthana’s conduct, the ruthless cover up provided by the government to Asthana, and its continuing assault on the autonomy of the investigation agency.The Modi government’s move has raised several questions. Foremost is -- Does the Prime Minister, or the Cabinet Committee on Appointment have the right to remove a CBI chief?In 1997, the Supreme Court laid down detailed norms under the Vineet Narain judgment on the appointment of CBI chief, CVC’s superintendence over CBI etc. To make the CBI independent and more professional, the court fixed a tenure of two years for CBI chief. It also laid down a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the opposition leader and the Chief Justice of India to decide on CBI chief.Verma’s camp is now also claiming that he was close to ordering a formal enquiry into the alleged, in which Advocate Prashant Bhushan, Arun Shourie and others have alleged massive corruption and nepotism.For those who have snarled their way into power, holding onto the protective hallows of it at any cost is important. They also know that tactical rhetoric served on an hourly basis is opium enough for the larger public to forget the massive assault on democratic institutions being staged in front of them.The removal of CBI chief has to be seen in that light.The pigs of Animal Farm are now beginning to walk upright on two feet, like the humans they opposed. It is no more possible to distinguish between the saviours of democracy and its enemies. The pigs and human all look the same.Darkness does not descend on us like an iron curtain at once, but slowly drips in, drop by drop, and before we realise it would be blinding dark.