Doval, CVC, minister dragged into CBI feud

NEW DELHI:The infighting in the CBI today turned uglier with yet another senior officer moving the Supreme Court, accusing NSA Ajit Doval, Union Minister Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary and CVC KV Chowdhury of attempting to interfere in the probe against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana.

NSA Ajit Doval

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, November 19

The infighting in the CBI today turned uglier with yet another senior officer moving the Supreme Court, accusing NSA Ajit Doval, Union Minister Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary and CVC KV Chowdhury of attempting to interfere in the probe against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana.

Manish Kumar Sinha, who was investigating Asthana and the PNB scam involving Nirav Modi and was transferred to Nagpur, also alleged that Union Law Secretary Suresh Chandra had contacted Hyderabad-based businessman Sathish Babu Sana — complainant in the case against Asthana — while the proceedings were on in the CVC against the CBI Director, Alok Verma.

The NSA and the CVC were not available for comment. Minister Chaudhary called it “baseless and malicious”. Chandra too denied the allegations as false and concocted. “I do not know this person,” he told The Tribune.

The CBI had booked Asthana for allegedly receiving bribe from an accused, Manoj Prasad, probed by him in a case linked to meat exporter Moin Qureshi.

He was divested of his duties and sent on leave, along with CBI Director Alok Verma. Both have challenged the government decision in the SC. On Monday, Verma filed his response to the CVC report of inquiry against him in a sealed cover. His petition would be taken up tomorrow. In his plea before the SC, Sinha — a 2000-batch IPS officer from Andhra Pradesh cadre — has challenged his transfer to Nagpur.

Sinha’s plea was mentioned for urgent hearing before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi that refused to accept it. His counsel Sunil Fernandes said his client had "got some shocking revelations" in his petition and requested the Bench to take it up tomorrow, along with Verma’s petition. But the Bench wasn’t impressed. “Nothing shocks us,” said the CJI and asked Fernandes to be there during the hearing of Verma's plea against the Centre’s decision to divest him of duties and sending him on leave.

Terming his transfer as “arbitrary, motivated and malafide”, Sinha said it was made solely with the intent to victimise the officer as the investigation revealed cogent evidence against certain powerful persons.” He alleged Verma had briefed Doval on October 17 about the registration of a case against Asthana.

“Subsequently on the same night, it was informed that the NSA has informed Rakesh Asthana about the registration of the FIR. It was informed that Rakesh Asthana reportedly made a request to the NSA that he should not be arrested,” the petition alleged.

Sinha supported the affidavit of CBI DSP AK Bassi, who was transferred to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He said Bassi favoured immediate search of public servants involved in the bribery case (relating to Asthana), but the "Director CBI did not give immediate permission and reverted that the NSA has not permitted the same”.

Sinha said during interrogation of a middleman Prasad—arrested in the bribery case against Asthana—the names of Doval and Samant Kumar Goel, Special Director of India's external intelligence agency (R&AW) cropped up.

“As per Manoj Prasad, Dineshwar Prasad, his father, retired as Joint Secretary, and has close acquaintance with Doval. This was one of the first things Manoj claimed on being brought to the CBI HQs and expressed complete surprise and anger as to how the CBI could pick him up, despite his close links with Doval,” Sinha said. Sinha alleged Manoj “taunted” the CBI officers and asked him to “stay in limits”.

He said on October 20, searches were conducted at the residence and the office of Devender Kumar, Dy SP, CBI who was investigating the Moin Qureshi case. The reason for the searches was based on certain inputs provided by the special unit, based on legal interception.

“While the search was on, a phone call was received from the Director CBI instructing to stop the search. At that time, the applicant (Sinha) was sitting in the BSF&C office. He talked to the Director, to which the Director replied the instruction had come from NSA Doval,” Sinha alleged.

Sinha, in his plea, also alleged that Hyderabad-based businessman Sathish Babu Sana, who is the complainant in the case against Asthana, told during interrogation that sometime in the first fortnight of June 2018, a sum of few crores was paid to Union minister Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, Minister of State for Coal now. “As per Sana, Haribhai had intervened with the senior officers of the CBI through the office of Minister of Personnel... to whom apparently, the Director CBI reports to.

“The money was paid through Vipul of Ahmedabad. These facts were disclosed to me by Sana on October 20 in the forenoon,” Sinha said in his petition. Sinha claimed Sana said he met CVC Chowdhury, along with one Gorantla Ramesh, somewhere in Delhi and discussed Moin Qureshi's case.

“As per Sana, subsequently, Chowdhury called Asthana to his residence and made inquiries. Asthana informed the CVC that there is not much evidence against them. There is no illegality in this, but the same is put on record here for the sake of completeness. No verification was undertaken and the same is based on disclosure made by Sana,” he said.