New Delhi, October 24: In the middle of the fight between CBI top boss Alok Verma and special director, Rakesh Asthana, the Cabinet Committee has appointed M Nageshwar Rao as interim director of the investigative agency. According to a report, Verma and Asthana have been sent on leave. It has been clarified that CBI director Alok Verma has not been removed as of now, but has been divested of all powers of supervision.

The CBI headquarters in Delhi have been sealed today morning, and officers were not allowed to enter the premises. CBI Names its Special Director Rakesh Asthana as 'Accused No. 1' in Bribery Case Linked to Meat Exporter Moin Qureshi.

The order implies that the government has sidelined all the three additional directors number three in the agency's hierarchy, including A K Sharma, whose name had figured in the complaint by Asthana. Reportedly, these developments have happened a day after Verma wrote to the Prime Minister’s office seeking Asthana’s suspension.

As per reports, the feud between the two top men came to the notice after CBI lodged an FIR against Asthana on a complaint by Hyderabad-based businessman Sathish Babu Sana. Sana, who is also one of the key witnesses in the Moin Qureshi case,  which Ashthana was investigating.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 24, 2018 08:53 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).