CBIvsCBI: Agency files charge sheet before Delhi court, gives clean chit to Asthana in bribery case

The Central Bureau of Investigation Tuesday filed a charge sheet against Dubai-based businessman and alleged middleman Manoj Prasad in connection with a bribery case involving the probe agency's former Special Director Rakesh Asthana.

The CBI, however, gave a clean chit to Asthana in the charge sheet filed before special CBI Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal, court sources said.

The agency has also absolved RAW chief S K Goel, who was also under the scanner in the case. CBI DSP Devender Kumar, who was arrested in 2018 and later got bail, has also got a clean chit by the probe agency.

The court has put up the final report for consideration on Wednesday.

Prasad was arrested on October 17, 2018 and got bail on December 18 the same year.

According to the sources, the charge sheet further states that investigation in the matter is still underway and the agency may file a supplementary report.

The CBI's failure to file a charge sheet within the mandatory 60 day period had in December 2018 led a Delhi court to grant statutory bail to Prasad.

The trial court had on October 31 last year granted bail to Kumar, arrested on October 23, after the agency chose not the oppose his application.

The CBI had registered the case against Asthana on the basis of a complaint from Hyderabad-based businessman Satish Sana, facing probe in the 2017 case allegedly involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi.

Sana alleged that the officer had helped him get a clean chit.

The agency had arrested Prasad in the case when he returned from Dubai. It was alleged by Sana that Prasad and his brother Somesh had taken Rs 2 crore to arrange a clean chit to him.