Interim CBI Director M Nageswara Rao transfers 20 officers

In a major reshuffle, interim CBI chief Nageswara Rao on Monday transferred around 20 officers, including the investigation officer of the 2G scam case, Vivek Priyadarshi. The move comes just a few days before high-powered Selection Committee led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will decide the name of the CBI Director.

Priyadarshi, posted in the Anti Corruption Branch in Delhi, has been transferred to Chandigarh. A Saravanan, who was probing the anti-Sterlite protests firing case in Tamil Nadu in which 13 people were killed, has been shifted to the banking, securities and frauds branch in Mumbai, which is handling the cases of loan default against diamond traders Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, among others, the order said.

He will continue to investigate anti-Sterlite protests case, it said.

Prem Gautam, posted in Special Unit of the CBI which does internal snooping on officers as a vigilance measure, has been relieved from the position. He will continue to probe economic offences and will also handle additional charge of the Deputy Director (Personnel), it said.

Gautam will be replaced by Ram Gopal, who has been transferred from Special Crime branch in Chandigarh.

Rao was appointed interim chief on January 10 after the high-powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed Alok Kumar Verma as the chief of the probe agency on charges of corruption and dereliction of duty. Rao will continue to be the CBI chief till the appointment of a new director.

The plea stated that the order of October 23 last year appointing Rao as the interim CBI director was quashed by the top court on January 8 but the government has "acted in a completely mala fide, arbitrary and illegal manner" to appoint him again in "complete contravention" of the DSPE Act.

The plea has also sought a direction to the Centre to appoint a regular CBI director forthwith by following the procedure laid down in accordance with the provisions of the DSPE Act, as amended by the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

The top court had on January 8 allowed Alok Kumar Verma to return as the CBI director, albeit with his wings clipped, by setting aside the Centre and the CVC's orders divesting him of his powers and sending him on leave.

With PTI Inputs