The CBI had filed a bribery case against Asthana, who wrote to the government listing several charges against his boss
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief Alok Verma has moved to suspend his deputy, Rakesh Asthana. This comes a day after the CBI chief met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to a report in NDTV, Verma has moved a note against Asthana. The note was prepared over the weekend and vetted by the agency's Director of Prosecution. In the note, sent to the government, Verma makes the case that Asthana continuing in CBI "is a source of demoralisation" for the other officers.
The CBI had filed a bribery case against Asthana, who wrote to the government listing several charges against his boss.
Highlights of the case:
• The CBI’s FIR is based on the claims of Satish Sana, a Hyderabad-based businessman investigated in connection with meat exporter Moin Qureshi, who is accused of money-laundering.
• Sana alleged that he was asked to pay a bribe of Rs 5 crore to Asthana to be rid of the case. Asthana was the investigating officer.
• Manoj Prasad was the middleman who asked him to pay the bribe. Prasad was arrested on October 16 while returning from Dubai on his way to collect the bribe.
• The CBI claimed to have analysed nine phone calls immediately after his arrest.
• The calls were allegedly exchanged between Asthana and a senior officer of another intelligence agency.
• The calls were also exchanged between the senior officer and the wife of the middleman Somesh Prasad, brother of middleman Manoj Prasad, among others, an officer claimed.
• Asthana alleged that it was the CBI chief Alok Verma who took the bribe in case of Moin Qureshi. Qureshi is being investigated for allegedly channelling illegal money through Dubai, London and other parts of Europe.
• Sana ‘admitted’ to bribing the CBI director during an investigation. This was revealed in Asthana’s letter to the Cabinet Secretary.
• Asthana also alleged he was framed for preventing Sama from skipping the country and pressing him to cooperate with the investigation
• Asthana had also accused the CBI chief of trying to frame him in the case of Sterling Biotech.
• The CBI director had objected to the appointment of Asthana as he was under investigation in the Sterling Biotech case.
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