CBI row: Satish Sana, who accused Rakesh Asthana of bribery, approaches Supreme Court, seeks interim protection

Hyderabad-based businessman Satish Sana, who had filed a corruption complaint against Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Director Rakesh Asthana,  has approached the Supreme Court seeking interim protection in the case, according to reports. Sana moved the apex court amid reports of the CBI summoning him for questioning. [caption id=“attachment_4166925” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Rakesh Asthana. PTI[/caption] Sana is being investigated in the money laundering case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi. In a statement to the CBI, he had  alleged that Asthana had taken a bribe of Rs 2 crore from him. Taking cognisance of this, the CBI registered an FIR with bribery charges against Asthana on 15 October. A copy of Sana’s purported “handwritten statement” dated 1 October was handed over to the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) by a joint director of the CBI to establish that the statement belonged to Sana. However, Asthana later accused CBI Director Alok Verma of being corrupt instead and filed a complaint against him. The Centre then intervened in the internal tussle of the CBI  and sent both Verma and Asthana on leave , divesting them of their duties at the agency. M Nageshwar Rao was appointed the interim director of the CBI. After being divested from his duties, Verma had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Centre’s decision to send him on leave. On Friday, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi gave the CVC   two weeks  to complete the inquiry into the various charges against Verma and submit its report to the court. Asthana, too, had moved the Supreme Court against being divested of his duties and seeking Verma’s removal from the CBI. He had also filed a plea in the Delhi High Court to have the bribery case against him quashed. The high court had granted Asthana interim protection from arrest till Monday.