Nageshwar Rao takes charge of CBI, reverses all transfers ordered by Alok Verma

NEW DELHI: A day after the ouster of Alok Verma, M Nageshwar Rao, additional director, on Friday took charge of the office of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director, the agency said.

Verma was transferred on Thursday to the office of director general fire services, home guards and civil defence, after which the 1986-batch IPS officer Rao, was made the interim director until any further orders.

Soon after assuming the charge, Rao cancelled all transfer decisions taken by Alok Verma during his recent two-day tenure as the agency chief, a CBI official said.

Immediately after rejoining duties on Wednesday morning, Verma had rescinded 11 transfer orders while five new changes were made by him on Thursday.

The transfers had led to speculation that Verma might reorganise the original probe team of his loyalists, DSP A K Bassi, SP S S Gurm, DIG Manish Kumar Sinha and JD A K Sharma, to investigate charges against Asthana. Sources say Rao, who was appointed as CBI interim director on October 23, might continue to head the agency till the final decision on a new director is taken. Rao is also likely to rescind all the transfer orders issued by Verma in last two days.

A 2-1 decision by a selection committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with its other two members being leader of congress Mallikarjun Kharge and Supreme Court judge AK Sikri on Thursday decided to ease out Verma from the post of CBI director.

The selection committee's decision was based on a Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)'s report which said that there were some serious allegations against Verma and those required further investigation.

The new chief of CBI, Rao is a 1986 batch IPS officer of Odisha cadre and worked in various capacities in his home state and was on deputation with CBI in 2016.

Nageswar Rao is a post-graduate in chemistry from Osmania University in Hyderabad and did research in IIT-Madras before joining police service. He served as SP in four Odisha districts, Mayurbhanj, Nabarangapur, Bargarh and Jagatsinghpur and in Railways and crime branch in Cuttack. Rao had reportedly used DNA fingerprinting technique in a rape case probe in 1996 in Jagatsinghpur.

(With inputs from agencies)