Special Director Rakesh Asthana's Team Members In CBI Get Extension

Amid reports of a power tussle between the CBI director and the second senior-most officer, the Central Vigilance Commission has given the go-ahead for extending the tenure of some key officers in the investigating agency, including those who have worked closely in some high-profile cases, as part of special director Rakesh Asthana's team.

Among those whose tenure has been extended by a panel headed by Central Vigilance Commissioner KV Chowdary included a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) rank officer, who was recently repatriated to his cadre state Tripura, officials said today.

However, the officer was called back to the agency soon after.

Apart from this, the panel has cleared extension in deputation tenure of two other senior Indian Police Service officers who worked closely with Mr Asthana in probing important cases, including the one involving businessman Vijay Mallya, the officials said.

The development comes days after the CBI wrote to the CVC saying that Mr Asthana, a Gujarat cadre IPS officer, (and second senior-most officer) is not allowed to attend the panel's meeting in absence of the agency's director Alok Verma, they said.

The CBI director is an invitee to the panel headed by the CVC. Those granted extension include two Joint Directors - AYV Krishna and Sai Manohar Aramane.

Mr Aramane is part of a Special Investigation Team handling the politically-sensitive bank fraud case involving Vijay Mallya, headed by Mr Asthana, the officials said.

The competent authority has approved extension in tenure of Mr Aramane, a 1995 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, from July 17, 2018 till April 2019, a recent order issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

Mr Aramane's batch mate Mr Krishna has also been given extension from July 18, 2018 till January 17, 2020, it said. The competent authority has approved extension in tenure of Manish Kishore Sinha from April 3, 2018 to November 30, 2018, the order said.

Sinha, a 1996 batch IPS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, is undergoing training at National Defence College, the officials said. He is Joint Director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The tenure of another senior IPS officer Anish Prasad, who was in May repatriated to his cadre state Tripura and called back soon after, has also been extended from June 3, 2018 to May 5, 2020, according to another order by the Personnel Ministry. He is posted as Deputy Director (Administration) in the CBI headquarters.

The tenure of IPS officer Prem Kumar Gautam, associated with coal blocks scam probe, has also been extended.