New Delhi, November 19: CBI Joint Director Manish Kumar Sinha on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking quashing of his transfer to Nagpur. In his petition, Sinha, who was probing bribery charges against Special Director Rakesh Asthana, alleged that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval interfered in the investigations against Asthana and have links to two middlemen involved in the bribery case.

“As per Manoj Prasad (the middleman arrested in the case against Asthana), Shri Dineshwar Prasad, father of Manoj and Somesh, retired as Joint Secretary, R&AW and has close acquaintance with the present National Security Advisor Shri Ajit K. Doval (“NSA”)," Sinha said in his petition, as reported by Indian Express. "Prasad claimed that recently his brother Somesh and Samant Goel, helped the NSA Shri Ajit Doval on an important personal matter," the petition reads. CBI vs CBI Battle Explained: Why Alok Kumar Verma and Rakesh Asthana are at Loggerheads? How it All Started.

Sinha also said that Doval stalled a search to be carried out at Asthana’s residence and didn't let AK Bassi, the investigating officer in the case, seize Asthana's cellphone. Sinha alleged that when Bassi asked permission to seize Asthana’s cell phones and for a search to be conducted, “the Director CBI did not give immediate permission and reverted that the NSA has not permitted the same”. Rakesh Asthana Bribery Case: CBI Arrests Officer Devender Kumar For Fabricating Statement Against Director Alok Kumar Verma.

According to the petition, the request was put on record to the Director on October 22, but it was rejected again. “Upon being queried, the Director/Petitioner herein replied that he was not getting clearance from the NSA/Shri Doval,” the petition says. Sinha further said when searches were conducted at Deputy SP Devender Kumar’s house on October 20, the CBI Director asked him to stop.

“…the Applicant …asked the Director, to which the Director replied that this instruction has come from NSA Shri Doval,” the petition says. Sinha also claimed that hefty bribes were paid to Union Minister of State for Coal and Mines Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhari for alleged help in matters related to the CBI. Chaudhari, a lawmaker from Gujarat, is known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Asthana, a 1984 batch Indian Police Service officer of Gujarat cadre, is accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore from a businessman who was under probe in a case of meat exporter Moin Qureshi, who is facing multiple cases of money laundering and corruption, to "wreck" the investigation.

Days after registration of an FIR against Asthana by the CBI, the government sent CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma on leave and transferred as many as 13 officers of the agency who were probing bribery charges against the special director.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 19, 2018 04:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).