Amid a row of controversies between the Central Bureau of Investigation top boss Alok Verma and special director Rakesh Asthana, in an early morning developement, Alok Verma was sent on leave and the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet appointed joint director M Nageshwar Rao as Interim Director of the investigative agency with immediate effect, said an order by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions dated 23 October 2018.
After the recent development, Verma will challenge the government order in Supreme Court after he was sent on leave before an interim chief was appointed.
The case is likely to come up for hearing on Friday.
Following the ugly public spat, the government decided to send both Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana on leave.
The feud between Verma and Asthana came out in open after the CBI lodged an FIR against the latter on a complaint by Hyderabad-based businessman Sathish Babu Sana, a witness in the case of meat exporter Moin Qureshi who is facing a number of cases of money laundering and corruption. Notably, a special investigation team (SIT) headed by Asthana was investigating the Qureshi case. Sana has claimed that he paid Rs 3 crore to Asthana through a Dubai-based middleman Manoj Prasad and his brother, Somesh Prasad, to save him in the case.
