The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) on Sunday appointed senior IPS officer of the Gujarat cadre Rakesh Asthana as special director of CBI.
Asthana’s elevation comes as part of promotion of eight IPS officers of the 1984 batch.
Asthana is currently an additional director in the CBI and is handling several important probes including the AgustaWestland scam and cases related to allegations of corruption in Delhi government among others.
He is now the second senior-most officer in the central anti-corruption agency after CBI director Alok Verma.
Apart from Asthana, the ACC cleared the promotion of seven other IPS officers of the 1984 batch to the rank of special director or special director general in central agencies and central paramilitary forces.
Among those promoted include Deepak Kumar Mishra, who has been posted as special DG in CRPF. He is presently holding charge of additional DG in the force.
A P Maheshwari, presently ADG BSF, has been been promoted to special DG in the border guarding force, while another ADG in BSF, Rajesh Ranjan, has also been made special DG.
Odisha cadre IPS officer Gurbachan Singh, posted as additional director in Intelligence Bureau, has been made special director in the IB.
Another additional director in the IB, Arvind Kumar, has also been promoted as special director.
Sudeep Lakhtakia, ADG CRPF, has been made special DG CRPF.
Former UP DGP Javeed Ahmed was promoted to special DG rank. He is presently posted as the chief of National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Sciences.
Earlier, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging “inordinate delay” in taking several corruption cases to the “logical end” and said that the CBI should be held accountable.
“The nation is grateful to your re-affirmation of fighting (sic) against corruption and bringing to book the corrupt, especially those at the high levels.
“In this connection, I wish to draw your attention to the inordinate delay in prosecuting to the logical end all prima facie proved corruption cases by the CBI,” Swamy said in his letter to Modi.
He then went on to name some cases like Aircel-Maxis, Saradha chit fund scam, Agusta Westland deal and land deals related to Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
“The PMO, while cannot direct the CBI, nevertheless can hold the CBI accountable under the Constitution for the expenditure the CBI incurs from the consolidated fund of India,” he wrote.
