CBI vs CBI: No action against Rakesh Asthana till Monday, says Delhi HC

Oct 23 (AZINS) In an interim relief to Special CBI Director Rakesh Asthana, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday said that no action can be taken against him till the next hearing on Monday.

Asthana had moved the Delhi High Court against the lodging of an FIR against him in a bribery case and sought the high court's direction that no coercive action be taken against him.

The court has posted the matter for hearing on October 29 (Monday) when CBI director has to respond to the allegations levelled by Rakesh Asthana

The High Court also said that all electronic records of the accused to be preserved including mobile phones, laptops etc.

The CBI had yesterday arrested its DSP Devender Kumar in connection with bribery allegations involving the investigative agency's second-in-command, Asthana.

Kumar, earlier the investigating officer in a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi, was arrested by the CBI on the allegations of forgery in recording the statement of businessman Sathish Sana, who had alleged to have paid bribe to get relief in the case.

In his statement, Sana had purportedly said that he had in June this year discussed his case with Telugu Desam Party's Rajya Sabha member C M Ramesh who, after speaking to the CBI Director, had assured him that he would not be summoned again.

"From June onwards, I was not called by the CBI. I was under the impression that investigation against me is complete," he is believed to have said.

The CBI has now alleged that Kumar had fabricated this statement as an "afterthought...to corroborate the baseless allegations made by Asthana against CBI Director Alok Verma to the CVC (Central Vigilance Commissioner)".

They said the agency was also looking into the alleged role of other members of the special investigation team headed by Asthana.

Asthana, who was booked by the agency on bribery charges in an unprecedented action, had complained against Verma on August 24, 2018.