2 days after return, Alok Verma removed as CBI chief over 'corruption'

New Delhi: Two days after the Supreme Court reinstated Alok Verma as CBI chief, a high-powered committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed the officer today.

Verma, a 1979-batch AGMUT cadre IPS officer, has been removed from the high-profile post on the charges of corruption and dereliction of duty making him the first chief in the history of the agency to face such action, news agency PTI reported quoting officials.

The Union government said that Additional Director M Nageshwar Rao will look after the duties of the Director till the appointment of a new director, or until further orders.

Following his removal, Verma has been appointed as Director General, Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet  (ACC).

The decision to remove Verma was taken after the panel met on Thursday for the second time to decide Verma's fate and also his successor.

There were eight counts of charges against him, including alleged attempts to induct tainted officers, compromising probe in the Moin Qureshi case, IRCTC scam among others, in the CVC report presented before the Committee also comprising Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Justice A K Sikri, appointed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi as his nominee.

The panel took into account the extremely serious nature of observations made by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) against the CBI chief and was of the opinion that being the head of a very sensitive organisation, Verma was not functioning with the integrity expected of him, news agency ANI reported.

In its report, the CVC had reasonably concluded that Verma, in the IRCTC case, “deliberately” excluded a name from FIR, for reasons best known to him. The CVC also claimed that they found evidence against him in several other cases as well.

Sources told ANI that CVC had found evidence of influencing of investigation in Moin Qureshi case. There was also evidence of taking of bribe of Rs 2 crore.

The probe panel had said that Alok Verma's conduct in the case is suspicious, and there is a prima facie case against him.

The decision for the removal was taken by a majority with Kharge opposing the move, officials added.

Over the last 24 hours, Verma had cancelled the transfers of 10 officers and transferred five others.

Alok Verma approached the apex court after the government sent him and his deputy Rakesh Asthana on compulsory leave and appointed an interim chief, past midnight on October 23. Verma's office was sealed and members of his team were transferred overnight by Nageswar Rao, who took charge as interim chief around 2 am that night.

The Supreme Court's order of scrapping Centre’s move came as a major embarrassment to the government, which has been under attack from the opposition over allegations of manipulating the CBI and using it as a tool against political rivals.