CBI Infighting: Asthana, Verma, Qureshi – Here Are the Key Players

Who are the key players in the unprecedented CBI infighting playing out in public? Here’s the context.

In an unprecedented move, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday, 15 October, booked its Special Director Rakesh Asthana for allegedly receiving bribes from middlemen to give relief to a businessman being probed by him in a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi.

The CBI action comes two months after Asthana, second in command in the CBI, wrote to the Cabinet Secretary on 24 August alleging that the businessman Qureshi had paid CBI Director Alok Verma Rs 2 crore to get relief in the case.

The matter was referred to the Central Vigilance Commission, which is looking into the allegations.

While allegations and counter-allegations were coming thick and fast from the camps of the CBI’s number one and two, the agency booked Asthana under charges of criminal conspiracy, corruption and criminal misconduct in a first-of-its-kind case.

Besides Asthana, the agency has booked Deputy Superintendent of Police Devender Kumar, and Manoj Prasad and Somesh Prasad, the purported middlemen, and other unknown officials.

The FIR against Asthana and others was registered by the anti-corruption unit of the CBI, based on claims made in a complaint given by Sathish Babu Sana, a Hyderabad-based businessman. Sana had narrated his meetings with various middlemen in New Delhi and Dubai before a magistrate.

Here is a closer look at the key players in this unprecedented case:

Who is Rakesh Asthana?

Asthana, 57, is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1984 batch of the Gujarat cadre, and is the Special Director at the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Asthana is number two in the CBI hierarchy after the director. Before Alok Verma was appointed CBI Director in February 2017, Asthana was the acting Director for a few months. He is considered to be very close to the Modi-led government. 

The Case Against Asthana

The CBI, on 15 October, registered an FIR against Asthana based on allegations of bribery by Sathish Babu Sana, whom Asthana had been probing in a case linked to meat exporter and hawala operator Moin Qureshi.

Asthana is mentioned as the prime accused in the case.

Asthana, it is alleged, received bribes through a middleman named Manoj Prasad and his brother Somesh Prasad. Manoj was arrested by the CBI’s anti-corruption unit on 16 October after he landed in Delhi from Dubai. 

The case was registered under Section 120B (conspiracy) of the IPC and Sections 7 (illegal gratification), 13(2) (criminal misconduct), 13(1)(d) (taking bribe) of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and Section 7A (to influence public servant by corrupt means) of Prevention of Corruption Act (as amended in 2018).

The CBI had said that under these sections, no prior permission under Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Amendment Act is needed from the government to initiate a probe against an officer.

The 11-page FIR includes the statement of the complainant, Sana, which was recorded before a Magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPc.

Infighting Within the CBI

The case assumes added significance as the allegations against Asthana came hot on the heels of massive infighting within the CBI, between its Director, Alok Verma, and Special Director Asthana, his number two.

Asthana had recently accused the CBI director of interfering in a corruption case against Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, which Asthana had been investigating.

Background

Asthana had presided over the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the Godhra Sabarmati Express carnage. After his appointment, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was moved in the Supreme Court seeking the quashing of his appointment alleging “violation of guidelines on the appointment”.

Asthana was also given the responsibility of investigating the Fodder Scam.

He is also heading the SIT handling crucial cases such as the AgustaWestland chopper scam and the loan fraud case by business tycoon Vijay Mallya.

It should also be noted that it was the team under Asthana that had opened a Look Out Circular against Sana, who had attempted to flee the country but could not because of the preemptive action.

Who is Alok Verma?

Verma, 61, is the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation in India. He has held the post since 1 February 2017.

A 1979 batch IPS officer of the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre, he has over 35 years of experience in the Indian Police Service (IPS).

He was also the Commissioner of Police, Delhi before he was appointed CBI Director.

Verma-Asthana Standoff

After Asthana was charged by the CBI, he wrote to the government with a complaint against Verma, saying that the director had sought to impede his functioning, interfere in investigations, and malign his reputation.

Recently, in September 2018, Asthana and Verma had strongly disagreed on file on one aspect of the Moin Qureshi case: On whether the proposal of CBI officials to seek custodial interrogation of four of the accused should be sent to CBI’s Director of Prosecution (DoP) or not.

Asthana claimed that Verma intentionally sat on the file and didn’t approve it to protect Sana, because he was one of the four accused named in the file.

Prior to this, the fight between Verma and Asthana was sparked in 2017, when the director had objected to Asthana’s appointment to the agency, as he was under investigation in the Sterling Biotech case.

Last month, the investigating agency said a complaint filed by Asthana against Verma was malicious and frivolous.

Who is Satish Babu Sana?

Sana is a Hyderabad-based businessman on whose statement an FIR has reportedly been booked against Asthana.

A native of Kakinada in Andhra, he was a small-time AP State Electricity Board employee who quit his government job and moved to Hyderabad. There, he floated several companies.

He is also a director of several companies like Rasama Estates LLP, Goldcoast Properties Private Limited, Matrix Natural Resources Private Limited, and East Godavari Breweries Private Limited.

Sana was named witness in both the CBI and Enforcement Directorate’s case against the meat exporter Moin Qureshi.

Sana Accused Asthana

In an 11-page FIR that was recorded before a Magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPc, Sana had accused Asthana of receiving bribes through a middleman named Manoj Prasad.

It should also be noted that it was the team under Asthana which had opened a Look Out Circular against Sana, who had attempted to flee the country but could not because of the preemptive action.

In the entire statement, Sana doesn’t claim to have had any direct meeting with Asthana. This will be an important area that will need to be probed by the CBI.

Nonetheless, Sana claims to have enough evidence – like telephonic conversations and WhatsApp – messages with Manoj and Somesh to prove their involvement in the bribery case.

Who is Devender Kumar?

The FIR, which based on the complaint filed by Sana, says that he was asked to appear before the investigating officer (IO) of the case and Deputy Superintendent in the CBI, Devender Kumar, several times to record his statement in the ongoing investigation against Moin Qureshi. Sana was called as a witness to testify about the investments of Rs 50 lakh he made in Qureshi's company.

Sana said that he was summoned repeatedly by Kumar, and was asked the same questions again and again. Since 12 October 2017, he was allegedly summoned several times by the CBI.

The CBI on Monday, 22 October, arrested Kumar for falsification of records in the Qureshi case.  According to the CBI, Kumar fabricated Sathish Sana’s statement under section 161, showing it to be recorded on 26 September 2018 in Delhi. In reality, Sana was not present in Delhi on this particular date, nor did Kumar record his statement, according to the CBI.

The CBI also claimed that the fabricated statement signed by Kumar was documented to show that CBI Director Alok Verma was involved in helping Sana in the Qureshi case.

The fabricated statement said:

“During June, 2018, I had discussed my case with one of my old friends CM Ramesh, a Rajya Sabha member who assured that he will talk to the concerned Director. Subsequently, when met with CM Ramesh, he told that he had personally met Director CBI regarding my case and examination by CBI. Ramesh also informed that I will not be called again in this case. Since from June onwards, I was not called by CBI, I was under the impression that investigation against me is completed.”

The CBI claimed that Kumar had fabricated this statement as an afterthought to corroborate the baseless allegations made by Asthana against Verma to the CVC.

Who are Manoj Prasad and Somesh Prasad?

Apart from Asthana, Sana named three more people in the FIR – Devender Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police in CBI, Manoj Prasad, and Somesh Prasad, who allegedly accepted the bribe on Asthana’s behalf.

Manoj Prasad is a businessman and an investment banker. He owns a company called Que Capital in Dubai.

Sana met Manoj Prasad in Dubai, and was known to him for 10 years in December 2017. He informed Prasad about being summoned by the CBI. Prasad assured Sana that he could help him in getting a clean chit in the case by using his brother Somesh Prasad's connection in the CBI, states the FIR.

All three – Sana, Manoj and Somesh – met, and discussed the strategy to move ahead.

Sana, in the complaint, said:

“Somesh Prasad called a CBI officer over the telephone in my presence as well as in the presence of Manoj Prasad and explained my issue to him. After talking to the said CBI officer over phone, he assured me that my problem would be solved and no further notices will be issued to me by the CBI. Somesh Prasad further told me that I will have to pay an amount of Rs 5 crore to the CBI officer through him. Somesh Prasad further informed me that in order to get favour in the case from the CBI officer, I will have to pay an amount of Rs 3 crore as an advance and remaining amount of Rs 2 crore at the time of filing chargesheet in the case, and in lieu of this money, the said CBI officer would manage clean chit to me.”

When Sana inquired about the identity of the CBI officer, Somesh allegedly revealed the name.

“Somesh Prasad disclosed the identity of the CBI officer to whom he talked in my presence and whose photo was available in the DP as Rakesh Asthana, Special Director in CBI,” said Sana in the FIR.

As first instalment, Sana allegedly paid Rs 1 crore to Manoj in his office in Dubai. He allegedly paid Rs 1.95 crore as second instalment on 13 December 2017 to Somesh’s father-in-Law, Sunil Mittal, in the parking area of the Press Club of India in Delhi.

In conversation with The Quint, Sunil Mittal denied collecting money on behalf of Rakesh Asthana. He denied the allegations levelled against him, Manoj and Somesh.

Somesh was earlier based in London and was working at a bank. Later, he was transferred to Dubai. Manoj wanted his brother Somesh to join him in his business, so they both started working together, said Sunil Mittal, father-in-law of Somesh Prasad. Mittal also states Somesh is currently in Dubai and unwell. 

Sana also claimed that Somesh called him from Asthana's room in Delhi. He said in the FIR:

“Within 5 minutes, he (Somesh) called me on my Dubai line to make me hear the conversation. Thereafter, I heard the voice of some person who was talking to another person... I heard that the officer was giving instruction to some another person to look into my matter and thereafter, he disconnected the call by replying ‘Jai Hind’.”

In the FIR, Sana claimed that Somesh had been managing Asthana's investments in Dubai and London for many years. He also added that Somesh mentioned the name of Samant Goel, the second in command in RAW.

For some time, Sana claimed he didn't receive any summons from the CBI after making a payment of Rs 2.95 crore. But on 13 February 2018, he allegedly received a summons to appear before the investigating officer.

When he informed Manoj about the summons, Sana said Manoj told him to pay the remaining Rs 2 crore to avoid further summons.

Between February to September 2018, Sana was summoned several times by the CBI. But on 25 September 2018, while he was leaving for Paris, he was stopped at the airport and was not allowed to travel because a Look Out Circular had been issued against him. He was taken to the CBI office and questioned again.

When Sana contacted Manoj, he said he was told that all of this was happening due to non-payment of the balance amount. Accordingly, Sana made a payment of another Rs 25 lakh to Manoj.

Sana ends his complaint demanding legal action against all the people named in the FIR. The FIR said:

“In view of the above mentioned facts and circumstances, it is most humbly requested that I have been made to part with huge amount of money by the above named persons including CBI officers in the guise of helping me in a CBI case wherein I have no involvement. I, therefore, request you to take immediate legal action against the culprits in the interest of justice. I have made recordings of most of the WhatsApp messages and WhatsApp voice calls which I will produce as and when asked to do so.”

Who is Samant Goel?

The FIR also mentions the name of Samant Goel, Special Director at India’s premier external intelligence body, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). Like Asthana, he too is a 1984 batch IPS officer from the Punjab cadre.

The FIR said that Somesh was in touch with Goel.

The CBI has claimed that Goel facilitated the meeting between Somesh and CBI officers, including Rakesh Asthana. The agency has also claimed that during the probe, they have found some WhatsApp exchanges between Goel and Somesh related to the bribery case against Asthana.

Goel is not named as an accused in the FIR.

Who is Moin Qureshi?

Qureshi, a meat exporter and hawala operator, is alleged to be the biggest tax evader of India. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection to a money-laundering case.

Qureshi was educated at Dehradun’s Doon School and Delhi’s St Stephen's college. He started his business in 1993, after opening a small slaughterhouse at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. Over the years, he became India's biggest meat exporter.

He diversified his business and established some 25 companies, including in construction and fashion.

The Case Against Qureshi

The IT Department had issued notices to Qureshi under the new Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015, as a probe led it to a few foreign assets owned or held by the meat exporter and his family in an allegedly illegal manner.

The case emerged after the Tax Department first carried out searches against Qureshi and his firm AMQ Group on 15 February 2014.

The meat exporter had left the country on 15 October 2016 from the IGI Airport despite a Look Out Circular issued by the ED against him.

Qureshi returned to the country in November 2017 to join the ED probe. He also faces probes by the Income Tax department for alleged tax evasion.

The agency had also asked the CBI to probe the role of public servants in allegedly favouring Qureshi in their deals.

Qureshi had already been under the scanner of the Income Tax Department for his connections with former CBI director AP Singh when the latter’s conversations with the businessman revealed the relations extended beyond courtesy calls.

The CBI alleged that Qureshi had been working as a middleman for "certain public servants" and that the analysis of records discloses the commission of cognisable offences. It had been alleged that AP Singh shared information with Moin Qureshi and also helped him in many cases.