Amid a row between CBI Director Alok Verma and the agency's second-in-command Rakesh Asthana, the public relations wing of the CBI swung into action to defend the chief and malign his deputy. The CBI spokesperson issued a statement terming CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana's complaint to the CVC against the agency chief of his interference in certain cases as "malicious" and "frivolous". The row between the two officers has raised several eyebrows on the selection of officers, including Verma, as the agency chief and their integrity.
In an unusual move, the CBI issued a statement after reports about Asthana filing a complaint before the Central Vigilance Commission alleging interference in the probes undertaken by the special investigation team under him. The statement comes amid reports that Verma interfered in the investigation of IRCTC tender scam.
This is for the first time that dirty linen is being washed in the open and two top officials are embroiled in allegations of corruption.
"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," reads the CBI statement.
The CVC has sought for certain case files from the CBI on the basis of a complaint filed by the Special Director, CBI, the statement said.
"In its response to the CVC letter, the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of CBI has pointed out that the complaint is an attempt by the complainant to intimidate the officers of CBI who are investigating his role in at least half a dozen cases. The CBI said that the CVC should opine on the maintainability of the complaint and consider it malicious and frivolous in order to protect the integrity of the organisation," the CBI said.
Irrespective of the maintainability of the complaint, CBI has provided most of the files as requested by the CVC and the remaining will be submitted soon.
The CBI also claimed that there is no substance in the media reports that CBI is not cooperating in the enquiry.
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 chargesheet before the designated court. This could not have been possible without the explicit approval of the Director CBI, the agency further claimed.
CBI has pointed out in its letter to CVC that the issue relating to the IRCTC case was raked up earlier also and brought before the Supreme Court on two occasions. The matter was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The petitioners were also in possession of information from highly confidential internal documents, which is a serious offence, it added.
