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Narendra Modi Summons Top Two CBI Officers Amid Public Spat

CBI has filed an FIR against special director Rakesh Asthana, who has levelled corruption allegations against his boss director Alok Verma.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a file photo.
Adnan Abidi / Reuters
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a file photo.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has summoned the two top officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Rakesh Asthana and Alok Verma, amid their public fight over bribery and corruption allegations, said reports.

The CBI filed an FIR against special director Asthana on Sunday. Asthana had written to the government a few weeks ago accusing his boss CBI director Verma of corruption.

NDTV reported that CBI has also arrested an officer who worked with both Asthana and Verma.

Asthana wrote to the Cabinet Secretary and Central Vigilance Commission about 10 cases of alleged corruption and irregularities against Verma.

PTI reported that one of the cases pertained to Sathish Sana, a businessman facing a probe in a corruption case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi. Asthana had alleged on 24 August that Sana paid Rs 2 crore to Verma to get relief in the case.

Asthana had also alleged that Verma delayed his team's request to arrest Sana in the case.

The government referred the complaint to the Central Vigilance Commission, which is looking into it.

Asthana, a Gujarat-cadre officer, is the No. 2 official in CBI. The agency has now filed a corruption case against Asthana, his deputy superintendent of police Devender Kumar, and two alleged middlemen. PTI reported that the case has been filed on the basis of a statement by Sana that a bribe was paid to the middlemen to get relief from repeated questioning by Asthana's Special Investigation Unit.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.