New Delhi: The running feud between the two senior-most officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation – its Director Alok Verma and his second in command Rakesh Asthana — veered out of control on Monday. (Both officers have accused each other of corruption.)

In an unprecedented action, the CBI conducting raids inside its own headquarters and arresting an aide of Rakesh Asthana. The aide, Deputy Superintendent of Police Devinder Kumar, was arrested on the charge of giving false statements to frame the CBI director Alok Verma in a bribery case.

The arrest of the officer was preceded by another development – the lodging of a bribery case last week against Asthana, who is alleged to have received kickbacks, amounting to Rs 2 crore, from Moin Qureshi, a meat exporter, to settle  a money-laundering case against him.

Immediately after his aide’s arrest, Asthana was quoted by a CBI staffer as stating that he, too, was  moving the court for anticipatory bail to prevent his own arrest. This is because Asthana feels an allegedly ‘‘vindictive CBI chief Alok Verma’’ would go to any extent to turn the tables on him.

Devinder Kumar has been arrested on charges of fabricating the statement of Satish Sana, the complainant in the Moin Qureshi case. This, the CBI is saying, was essentially done to corroborate  allegations made by Asthana against his boss before  the CVC.
As many as eight mobile phones, a laptop and few  documents were seized in searches that were carried out at Kumar’s office and
residence.

Asked why the permission was not taken from the government for filing an FIR against Asthana, as required before registering a case against any officer of the joint secretary or higher rank, a CBI spokesperson said the permission is not required in a bribe case. According to sources, the allegations and the counter-allegations are a manifestation of the massive infighting within the premier investigation agency.