Ousted CBI chief Alok Verma sends his resignation to govt
New Delhi: Ousted CBI chief Alok Verma resigned on Friday, a day after he was shifted from the post by a high-level committee chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Verma, who was transferred as Director General, Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards, refused to take up the new job and instead sent his resignation to the government.
The ex- CBI director has said that he was transferred by "false, unsubstantiated and frivolous allegations" made by only one person, who was inimical to him.
Two days after Supreme Court reinstated him as the CBI chief, Verma was replaced by M Nageshwar Rao as interim director till government finds next director for the agency, a government order said Thursday.
Rao assumed charge of the agency on Thursday at 9 pm, an internal order of the CBI said.
Breaking his silence, Verma in a statement late Thursday night said that the CBI, being a prime investigating agency dealing in corruption in high public places, is an institution whose independence should be preserved and protected.
Hours after again taking charge as interim Director of the CBI, Additional Director M. Nageswara Rao on Friday nullified all the transfer orders issued by Alok Verma, who was on Thursday removed as the agency's Director.
Informed sources said that Rao axed all the transfers done by Verma on Wednesday and Thursday after the latter was restored to the top post by the Supreme Court.
Verma on Thursday issued transfer orders of six officials including two Joint Directors, one Assistant Director and two Deputy Inspector Generals (DIG).
On Wednesday, Verma had revoked most transfer orders issued by Rao on October 24, a day after he was first time appointed the interim Director of the agency.
That day, Rao transferred 13 CBI officials including Joint Director (Policy) A.K. Sharma, Deputy Inspectors General M.K. Sinha, Anish Prasad, K.R. Chaurasia and Tarun Gauba, Additional Superintendent of Police S.S. Gurm and Deputy Superintendents of Police A.K. Bassi and Ashwani Kumar.
The transfers were Rao's first decision after he retook charge on Friday as interim Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director after a Select Committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night removed Verma as the CBI chief.
In another development, the Delhi High Court Friday refused to quash the FIR lodged against CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana on bribery allegations. Justice Najmi Waziri also refused to quash the FIR lodged against CBI Deputy Superintendent Devender Kumar and alleged middleman Manoj Prasad. See P6
