Delhi HC tells CBI not to arrest its No. 2 Asthana till next hearing

Rakesh Asthana, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special director named in a corruption case, cannot be arrested till Monday when his petition against the case will be heard again, the Delhi high court said on Tuesday, ordering the CBI to maintain status quo in the corruption case against the probe agency’s second in command.

However, the court asked Asthana to “preserve” all his electronic devices at the CBI’s request which had expressed concern that an attempt might be made to erase evidence on devices such as computer and mobile phone, clarifying there was no stay on the probe.

The court also sought the response of the CBI and its director Alok Kumar Verma as also joint director AK Sharma on the separate pleas of Asthana and deputy superintendent Devender Kumar, arrested in the bribery case on Monday.

Asthana had approached the Delhi high court to seek protection against his arrest. Asthana’s petition came hours after Devender Kumar asked the court to cancel the bribery case filed against them. In his petition, Kumar said he was being made “a scapegoat” and the case filed against them was false, frivolous and an afterthought. He insisted that he was an “upright police officer” with an excellent service record.

Kumar said he had been investigating the case against meat exporter Moin Akhtar Qureshi and others and was implicated because he had unearthed the truth in this case and was going to arrest “several accused persons”.

The court listed the plea for hearing before an appropriate bench on Tuesday.

Kumar, who was earlier the investigating officer in a case involving Qureshi, who is facing multiple cases of money laundering and corruption,was arrested on Monday by the CBI for fabricating the statement of businessman Sathish Sana, who claimed he had paid bribes to get relief in the case.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Tuesday allowed the CBI to quiz in custody for seven days Devender Kumar. Special CBI Judge Santosh Snehi Mann remanded Kumar to the custody of CBI, which had sought 10 days of custodial interrogation of the accused official alleging that it has recovered incriminating documents after raiding his office and residence.

NEW DELHI: A DELHI COURT ALLOWED THE CBI TO QUIZ IN CUSTODY FOR SEVEN DAYS ITS DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT DEVENDER KUMAR