Govt curtails Rakesh Asthana’s tenure in CBI

New Delhi: The centre on Thursday curtailed the tenures of special director Rakesh Asthana and three more senior officers in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with immediate effect, days after the agency’s chief Alok Verma was shunted out by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led panel.

Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Asthana, who had an unprecedented feud with his boss Verma, was sent on forced leave by the government in October last year.

The tenures of Asthana, joint director Arun Kumar Sharma, deputy inspector general Manish Kumar Sinha and superintendent of police Jayant J. Naiknavare have been curtailed, the personnel ministry said in an order.

Verma and Asthana had levelled allegations of corruption against each other. They were sent on forced leave by the government. Amidst the feud between the two, the CBI registered a corruption case against Asthana when Verma was the agency’s chief.

Meanwhile, the government appointed Nageswara Rao as the interim CBI chief.