Nirendra Dev
Alok Verma is alleged to have 'misused his position' as CBI director and violated service rules.
New Delhi: The central government has decided to initiate action against former CBI Director Alok Verma for alleged financial defalcation. A high-powered panel has recommended Union Public Service Commission to take the necessary steps.
In what is seen as a major crackdown on errant bureaucracy and police service officials, the panel that probed allegations against Verma and the Ministry of Home and Personnel have found him on the wrong side.
He is alleged to have 'misused his position' as CBI director and violated service rules.
Verma had courted major controversies in 2018 when he fell out with another senior CBI official Rakesh Asthana.
While Verma had alleged that Asthana had taken a bribe of Rs 2 crore, Asthana also had levelled serious corruption charges against the then CBI chief Verma.
Now, sources say Verma has also been found 'guilty' of violating officials norms and procedures.
One of the actions against Verma could be the slapping of 'penalties' as well.
Experts say the disciplinary actions could have an adverse impact on Verma's pension too.
There was another interesting tale in the story.
In October 2018, after the centre ordered Verma to go on leave, legal counsel and activist Prashant Bhushan had tweeted: "Apart from protecting Asthana from investigation, the Rafale complaint by Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha & myself, entertained by the CBI Director, must be another reason for the Govt to remove him with such alacrity by this midnight order."
A 1979 batch IPS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories cadre, Verma later declined to take charge as Director General, Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard and told the government that he “may be deemed as superannuated.”
In October 2018, there was a high profile late-night drama after the appointment committee of the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued an order sending CBI Director Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana on leave.
The CBI had filed an FIR against Asthana on October 15, 2018, on bribery allegations in a case relating to leading meat exporter Moin Qureshi.
Asthana had moved to the Delhi High Court to quash the FIR.
CBI Joint Director M Nageswar Rao was immediately made the interim in-charge of the premier probe agency. Rao also took charge on the wee hours of October 24 itself.
Amid rows and media debates, the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said: “The CVC in its meeting, recommended that the allegations cannot be investigated by the two officials themselves, and neither can it be done by an agency under their supervision. Hence, to maintain the institutional integrity of the CBI, purely as an interim measure, they will sit it out by going on leave for a while, and an SIT not functioning under either of these two officers will investigate."
The ruling dispensation also claimed that ousted CBI Director Verma was not cooperating with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
Gujarat cadre IPS officer, Rakesh Asthana, was recently appointed Commissioner of Delhi Police.
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