Rakesh Asthana, Ex CBI, Becomes Delhi Top Cop 3 Days Before Retirement

New Delhi:

Rakesh Asthana, a former officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), was appointed Delhi Police Commissioner at this time, simply three days earlier than his retirement. A Union Dwelling Ministry order this night stated Mr Asthana, at present the Director Basic of the Border Safety Power, would be part of the Delhi Police with a yr’s extension in service.

Two months in the past, Mr Asthana was dominated out of the race for the submit of CBI Director as a result of he was to retire in lower than six months. When a panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Might to pick a brand new chief investigator, Chief Justice NV Ramana reportedly raised a Supreme Courtroom judgment that had stated officers with lower than six months left in service shouldn’t be thought-about for police chief posts.

That dominated out not less than two names on the federal government’s shortlist, together with Mr Asthana, who was to retire on July 31.

His appointment as Delhi Police chief was enabled by an extension granted “in public curiosity”, in response to an order from the Appointments Committee of Cupboard comprising PM Modi and Dwelling Minister Amit Shah.

The order stated Mr Asthana was getting an “inter cadre deputation” from the Gujarat cadre to AGMUT (from the place Delhi Police chiefs are picked) and his service was being prolonged “initially for a interval of 1 yr past the date of his superannuation… as a particular case in public curiosity”.

Mr Asthana’s appointment has come as a shock to many who see him as an outsider. After SS Jog and Ajayraj Sharma, he’s the third officer from different cadres given the highest police submit.

The outgoing police chief, Balaji Srivastava, was given further cost barely a month in the past after SN Shrivastava retired.

A 1984-batch IPS officer, Mr Asthana was moved out of Gujarat to the CBI as Particular Director after the BJP-led authorities got here to energy in 2014.

Then CBI chief Alok Verma had opposed the appointment of Mr Asthana, who was described by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as “the PM’s blue-eyed boy”.

The CBI’s high two officers had a bitter public feud that peaked when Mr Asthana confronted a protracted investigation into bribery allegations.

Mr Verma was faraway from the submit of CBI director by the federal government after he had ensured submitting of an FIR in opposition to Mr Asthana on corruption expenses. 

In 2018, each officers — Mr Verma and Mr Asthana — had been allegedly placed on an inventory of doable targets for surveillance utilizing the Israeli spy ware Pegasus, which is bought solely to governments.

News portal “The Wire” reported final week that Mr Verma was placed on the record simply hours after he was sacked and Mr Asthana just a few hours later. Mr Verma was additionally a Delhi Police Commissioner earlier than being appointed a Director of the CBI.

Mr Asthana was faraway from the CBI in 2018 and made the Director Basic of Civil Aviation Safety in January 2019.  

He acquired a clear chit from the CBI in February 2020 in reference to allegations of accepting bribes from fraud-accused pharma firm Sterling Biotech.

In March 2019, he was cleared by the CBI in one other bribery case, linked to meat exporter Moin Qureshi.