NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has cleared its former special director Rakesh Asthana and deputy superintendent of police Devender Kumar in the 2018 bribery case registered by then the agency chief Alok Verma, officials said on Tuesday.
The CBI filed a charge sheet against Dubai-based businessman and alleged middleman Manoj Prasad in connection with the bribery case involving Asthana. The clean chit comes a day before the Delhi high court deadline to complete the probe expired.
The CBI had booked Asthana on charges of criminal conspiracy and bribery based on a complaint filed by Hyderabad-based businessman Sathish Sana, who was a key witness in the case where the CBI is probing money-laundering charges against Hyderabad-based meat exporter Moin Qureshi.
Giving him a clean chit, the agency said it did not find any evidence that the former CBI special director had demanded or paid any bribe in Qureshi’s money laundering case.
The probe agency also reached a conclusion that there was no connection with Prasad. The current RAW head Samant Goel, who was also named in the FIR, was also given a clean chit by the agency. Sana had claimed he met one Somesh in Dubai and was assured that his name would be cleared from the case.
The FIR was registered against Asthana and others when Alok Verma was the Director CBI. Asthana had denied all the allegations saying the case was fabricated against him at the behest of former CBI director Alok Verma and Sana was himself a suspect in Moin Qureshi case, which the Gujarat cadre officer was investigating.
Verma was later removed by a PM-led three member panel in January last on charges of corruption as per findings of the Central Vigilance Commission. Asthana had been appointed CBI’s special director in October 2017.