The Central Bureau of Investigation will continue to probe the allegations of corruption and extortion against its Special Director Rakesh Asthana, who could be asked to go on leave.
“The Delhi High Court has refused to quash the FIR filed against him and others, so the probe will continue and status quo will be maintained only in respect of two petitioners Rakesh Asthana and Devender Kumar, which means we will act against the other accused,” a top agency official told The Hindu .
On Tuesday, Mr. Kumar was produced before a court that sent him to seven-day CBI custody. He was arrested on Monday on the charges of falsification of records.
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Not attending office
The official said Mr. Asthana had not been coming to office for the past two days.
“All responsibilities from him will be taken away, considering the sensitivity of the case in which he is an accused and to ensure that no fudging of documents takes place,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
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Asked whether Mr. Asthana had been told to proceed on leave, he said: “CBI Director Alok Verma will write to the government seeking his immediate transfer from the agency on the ground that his continued presence may hamper the probe into the case.”
Mr. Asthana now heads the SIT pursuing several important cases, including bribery charges in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, bank loan default by businessman Vijay Mallya, a land scam involving former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the Rajasthan ambulance scam.
The agency chief had earlier taken away from his supervision several other cases, including the Aircel-Maxis case and also control of the Economic Offences wing.
On registration of the FIR against Mr. Asthana and others, the Moin Qureshi case has also been taken over by another team with a new investigating officer.
The case against Mr. Qureshi, a meat exporter, was registered in February 2017 alleging that he accepted money from several people for securing favours from public servants.
Mr. Kumar was suspended automatically 24 hours after his arrest. The Central Vigilance Commission has been informed, said the agency.
The CBI, in the light of new findings, said it had added IPC provisions pertaining to extortion and forgery to the FIR, which had initially been registered under PCA.