Amid power tussle between Alok Verma and Rakesh Asthana, senior CBI official meets CVC

Days after CBI's second-in-command Rakesh Asthana complained about interference in work against its top boss Alok Verma, a senior official from the agency Monday met Central Vigilance Commissioner K V Chowdary and is understood to have submitted some documents in the matter, officials said.

A meeting was held for about an hour between the official of the policy wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Chowdary at the CVC's office here, they said.

Asthana had recently approached the government with a note saying Verma is interfering in probes undertaken by him and he is being vilified.

After Asthana's complaint was referred to the Central Vigilance Commission by the government, the transparency watchdog had sought files of various cases from the CBI through its letters dated September 11 and September 14.

In its response, the CBI agreed to show the files but termed the summoning of files as "rather disappointing", the officials said.

The infighting between the two top officers of the CBI is going on for long but it came out in open after Verma gave "his frank and free views" in a Central Vigilance Commissioner-led selection panel's meeting last year opposing Asthana's promotion as Special Director in the agency, they said.

Asthana, a Gujarat-cadre IPS officer, was last year appointed Special Director in CBI by the panel in a unanimous decision.

Terming the complaint against its Chief Verma as "malicious and frivolous", the CBI had on Friday issued a statement citing its response to the CVC where it said "it is an attempt by the complainant (Asthana) to intimidate the officers of CBI who are investigating his role in at least half a dozen cases".

The complaint reportedly alleged that Verma had stopped searches in the IRCTC scam involving former railway minister Lalu Yadav at the last moment.

"The allegation of preventing raids against the accused in the IRCTC case is absolutely false. The investigation of the case has resulted in filing a charge sheet before the designated court. This could not have been possible without the explicit approval of the director CBI," it said.

The agency said it is "unfortunate that baseless and frivolous allegations are being made publicly without proper verification of facts to malign the image of the director CBI and intimidate the officials of the organisation".

In the interest of the institution, the CBI has urged the CVC not to entertain complaints from "tainted officers" and set "wrong precedent" and lead to breakdown of organisational discipline, they claimed.