With its no 1 and 2 fighting, CBI finds itself in a mess: Latest updates

Asthana hits back after FIR, draws up a laundry list of charges against top CBI officers

After the CBI filed an FIR against its Special Director Rakesh Asthana alleging that he took a bribe of Rs 3 million, the top investigating agency seems to be unravelling from the top. Several media reports have said that a letter written by Asthana to the Central Vigilance Commissioner  (CVC) alleges that he is being framed by CBI chief Alok Verma. 

Rakesh Asthana has drawn up a laundry list of cases against Director Alok Verma and other top CBI officials according to Hindustan Times. He has apparently listed a dozen charges, double the number that the CBI has him docked for. Verma is reportedly considering writing to the govt for Asthana's removal as his position in the agency is 'untenable'. 

Asthana is not new to courting controversy. According to a The Wire report, he is being investigated by the agency for his role in a money laundering case related to Sterling Biotech. As such, his appointment was challenged by an NGO in the Supreme Court. The report goes on to mention several other cases in which Asthana is said to involved.

How the case is stacked up against Asthana

The case has been registered following a complaint made by Hyderabad resident Sathish Babu Sana, which was received on October 15.

The complainant, in his letter to the Director of CBI, alleged that following a notice from DSP Devender Kumar he first appeared before him at his office and was questioned about his relationship with Moin Akhtar Qureshi.

On subsequent appearances, the complainant alleges that the DSP accused him of paying Rs 5 million to Qureshi for Vanpic case, which he denied.

Later, on a visit to Dubai, complainant Sathish Babu Sana claims to have met Manoj Prasad, who informed him about having good connections in the CBI and assured him about helping in the case through his brother Somesh Prasad.

The complainant alleges that Somesh Prasad asked him to pay an amount of Rs 50 million to get favour in the case from the CBI officer.

Complainant further claims that upon query about CBI officer to which Somesh was speaking, he showed him a WhatsApp profile picture of his contact which reportedly was of Special Director Asthana.

Thereafter the Complainant alleges to have paid a sum of 29.5 million to Somesh Prasad and one of his accomplices in two instalments.

He also alleges that while the notices from CBI stopped after the payment of the initial sum, he again received a notice on 13th of February from DSP Devinder Kumar to appear before him at CBI.

Following another notice when the complainant confronted Manoj Prasad about the previous payment and the promise of relief in the case, Prasad reportedly informed him that 'he had to pay the balance amount of Rs 20 million to avoid issuance of further notices from CBI and get full relief from CBI'.

Is the FIR on shaky ground?

Nowhere in the statement, which is now part of the FIR, made public nearly five days after registration, Sana had mentioned any direct meeting, interaction or payment of a bribe to Asthana.

According to the call data analysis done by the CBI, the phone calls were allegedly exchanged between Asthana and a senior officer of another intelligence agency, who wanted to confirm the details of the middleman's arrest.

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.

The sources claimed that call data records show that four calls were exchanged between Asthana and the senior officer on October 17, 2018, a day after the arrest.

They claimed that Somesh Prasad, "somehow" got news of the latter's arrest on October 16, 2018, and immediately called his contact, the senior officer of the intelligence agency on the same day.

A call was then made by the officer to Somesh within a minute, they claimed.

Next day, the intelligence agency officer allegedly called Asthana to purportedly know the situation.

Three more calls were exchanged between the two, the agency claimed.

The officer of the intelligence agency also spoke to the wife of Somesh Prasad, they claimed.

In addition to the call exchanges, the agency is also depending heavily on the Whatsapp messages recovered from Manoj Prasad's phone, they claimed.