Amid the feud at the top rungs of the CBI, PTI reported sources as saying that CBI Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana have been sent on leave by the Narendra Modi government.
PTI also reported that the CBI officer had been sealed by the government with no one being allowed inside.
Joint director M Nageshwara Rao has been appointed as its interim director.
Reports also suggested that the offices of the two top bosses were being raided.
In an unprecedented move, the CBI had registered an FIR against Asthana, his Deputy Superintendent of Police Devender Kumar and two alleged middlemen Somesh Prasad and Manoj Prasad on the basis of a statement from Hyderabad-based businessman Sana Sathish Babu that a bribe was paid to the middlemen to get relief from repeated questioning by Asthana's Special Investigation Unit.
Meanwhile, Asthana had alleged his boss Verma had tried to falsely accuse him.
Asthana had written to the Cabinet Secretary and Central Vigilance Commission. Asthana had written about 10 cases of alleged corruption and irregularities against the CBI Director Verma, levelling serious corruption charges in some of them.