IB men outside Alok Verma's residence were on routine duty: Sources

The four people caught lurking outside the official residence of Alok Verma, Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) who has now been sent on leave, were on "routine duty", according to sources in the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

Sources said that the presence of the four men have unnecessarily been "projected otherwise."

"IB is entrusted with the responsibility of collecting intelligence on situations that may affect, inter alia, public order and internal security. Among other things, its units are routinely deployed on a regular basis in sensitive areas. At times, this is done in association with local law enforcement agencies (LEA) and at other times, a surprise element is also built in. This also enables LEAs to respond immediately to developing situations," explained the sources.

"Since such officials are on routine duty, they carry their identity cards. This is unlike surveillance, which is done covertly, without any visible appurtenances. One such unit, in the early hours of today, halted on Janpath where there was an unusual gathering of people. This was with a view to check the reason why people had collected at the location. This is a high-security zone where several protectees reside. Unfortunately, their presence was projected otherwise," sources added.

Meanwhile, the four men who were questioned by the Delhi Police have been let off.

After a spell of the internal fighting in CBI, the Centre divested the investigative agency's Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana from their roles and asked them to go on leave. Asthana and Verma were at loggerheads on several issues and accused each other of blocking investigation of several important cases.

Amid this tug of war, M Nageshwar Rao was appointed as the interim director of the CBI with immediate effect on Wednesday.