M Nageshwar Rao Takes Over As Interim CBI Chief

New Delhi: M Nageshwar Rao, additional director of CBI has taken over as interim chief of the country’s premier investigative agency.

Soon after he assumed office, Rao reverted all transfer decisions taken by his ousted predecessor Alok Verma restoring the position of officials as on January 8, news agency PTI reported quoting officials. He is a 1986-batch Odisha cadre IPS officer.

Verma who on Thursday was shunted out as director of CBI by a three member-panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was posted as the director general of fire services, civil defence and home guards. He was removed from his post on charges of corruption and dereliction of duty making him the first chief in the history of the agency to face such an action. There were eight counts of charges against him in the CVC report presented before the committee.

Verma was reinstated by the Supreme Court on January 8. Soon after assuming charge, he had undone all the transfers done by Rao. He had also appointed a new investigation officer to probe the case against Special Director Rakesh Asthana.

The government gave the charge of the agency to Additional Director Nageshwar Rao who was also incharge for 77 days when Verma and his deputy Asthana were on forced leave.

The Supreme Court had stopped Rao from taking any major policy decisions. However, no such condition applies on his present tenure, PTI reported.

He took charge at 9 PM on Thursday.