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NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government on Wednesday ordered an investigation into the country's main crime bureau, after its two senior officers accused each other of corruption and interference in police investigations. .
A man walks past the headquarters of the Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) of India in New Delhi, India on March 6, 2018. REUTERS / Adnan Abidi / File Photo
The public confrontation that lasted several weeks between Alok Verma, director of the Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) and his second in command, Rakesh Asthana, embarrassed an agency that plays the same role as the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The CBI is conducting several high-profile investigations, such as the $ 2 billion fraud of Nirav Modi, a fugitive diamond billionaire, perpetrated against the Punjab National Bank and the unpaid loans of lender Vijay Mallya.
Internal conflicts intensified this week after IWC agents raided their own headquarters and arrested an officer accused of fabricating an archive to support Asthana's allegations against Verma.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday that a special investigation team would investigate allegations made by Verma and Asthana against each other. He did not detail the allegations.
The government, faced with daily leaks and leaks of wrongdoing at the IWC, appointed an acting director on Wednesday and asked the two officers to go on temporary leave.
"To maintain institutional integrity, agents under the cloud must stand out, as an interim measure," Jaitley told reporters. "It is important to maintain the institutional integrity of the IWC".
Verma and Asthana, two veterans of the police department, could not be reached for comment.
The IWC has been subject to public scrutiny in the past.
The Supreme Court of India called the office a "caged parrot" in 2013, blaming the Attorney General of the time for interfering in an IWC investigation into the licensing of coal deposits by the government.
The latest issues are a new low for India's elite police, commentators said.
"Internal conflicts suggest deep decay in the organization," the Business Standard newspaper said. "Even by IWC standards, it must count as a low point".
The main opposition party, Congress, has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not doing enough to keep the IWC a credible, impartial and independent police agency.
Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Edited by Sanjeev Miglani and Darren Schuettler
