Rakesh Asthana Bribery Case: CBI Arrests Officer Devender Kumar For Fabricating Statement Against Director Alok Kumar Verma
Devender Kumar, a Deputy SP rank officer of the CBI, is the former investigative officer in the Moin Qureshi case.
New Delhi, October 22: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested its officer Devender Kumar in connection with a case registered against the agency's Special Director Rakesh Asthana of accepting a bribe to settle a case of meat exporter Moin Qureshi, who is facing multiple cases of money laundering and corruption.
Devender Kumar, a Deputy SP rank officer of the CBI, is the former investigative officer in the Moin Qureshi case. The CBI said Kumar was arrested on the allegation of falsification of records in an ongoing investigation. The agency accused Kumar of fabricating a statement of a witness Satish Sana. Under PM Narendra Modi, CBI is a Weapon of Political Vendetta: Rahul Gandhi.
According to the CBI, Kumar allegedly signed a 'fabricated statement' of Sana, saying it was recorded on September 26. The CBI claimed Sana was not present in Delhi on the mentioned date. He joined the investigation on October 1, the agency said. Kumar fabricated the statement to corroborate baseless allegations made by Rakesh Asthana against CBI director Alok Kumar Verma to CVC, the agency added.
The CBI on Sunday said it has registered a case against Asthana. "An FIR was registered against Rakesh Asthana, Devender and two private persons, Manoj Prasad and Someshwar Prasad, on October 15 following a complaint by Sathish Babu Sana of Hyderabad," the CBI said. The agency said the amended provision of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which mandates prior approval for initiating a probe, won't apply in the case against Asthana.
The country's top probe agency alleged that bribes were taken at least five times in December 2017 and October 2018. The CBI said it has a statement of Satish Sana recorded under Section 164 Cr.PC twice on October 4 and October 20, which completely "corroborates" allegation against Asthana and others.
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 the Qureshi case to "wreck" the investigation. The case was being examined by a special investigation team (SIT) headed by Asthana.
Asthana had filed a complaint against the CBI Director accusing him of interfering in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation corruption case involving family members of Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad.
Subsequently, in a press statement, the agency had denied Asthana's charges against the CBI Director and asserted that the Special Director himself was under probe in half-a-dozen cases and was trying to intimidate officials who were probing his role. (With agency inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 22, 2018 05:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).