New Delhi: In a dramatic twist to the CBI versus CBI fight, a high-power committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday removed CBI director Alok Verma from his post on charges of corruption and dereliction of duties, an action taken barely 48 hours after the top IPS officer was reinstated to the post by the Supreme Court after a 77-day forced leave. Mr Verma, whose fixed tenure of two years was to end on January 31, is the first chief in the 55-year CBI history to face such an unceremonious exit.
Mr Verma, a 1979-batch IPS officer, has now been posted as director general fire service, civil defence and home guards, under the Union home ministry.
The panel’s decision to remove Mr Verma was based on a majority vote of 2:1 with Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge opposing it and Justice A.K. Sikri, appointed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi as his nominee, siding with the government, sources said.
The panel considered a CVC report which levelled eight counts of charges against Mr Verma, who had been reinstated by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, and cited telephone interceptions by external spy agency RAW.
According to a government order issued on Thursday evening, the responsibility to head the CBI has once again been given to additional director M. Nageshwar Rao who was heading the agency during Mr Verma’s 77-day forced leave from Oct. 23, 2018, that followed his feud with his deputy special director Rakesh Asthana over corruption allegations.
