Govt curtails tenure of two senior IPS officers in CBI
New Delhi: The tenures of two senior IPS officers -- Anish Prasad and Abhay Singh -- at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have been curtailed, according to a Personnel Ministry order issued Wednesday.
Prasad, a 2003 batch IPS officer of Tripura cadre, was reportedly at the centre of controversy involving the CBI's two former top officers -- ex-chief Alok Kumar Verma and the then Special Director Rakesh Asthana.
Both Verma and Asthana had accused each other of corruption.
Prasad, who is at present Deputy Director (Administration) in the central probe agency's headquarters here, had earlier worked in the surveillance unit of the CBI, officials said.
At the time of his tussle with Verma, Asthana had written to Central Vigilance Commission and accused the agency of snooping on his family members, they said.
Singh, a 2002 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, was posted in Ranchi.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved premature repatriation of Prasad and Singh with immediate effect, the order said without citing further details.
Both of them were working at the level of Deputy Inspector General (DIG).
While Prasad has been asked to go back to his cadre state of Tripura, the services of Singh has been placed at the disposal of the Union Home Ministry, the order said.
The government had in January curtailed the tenure of four CBI officers -- Asthana, Joint Director Arun Kumar Sharma, Deputy Inspector General Manish Kumar Sinha and Superintendent of Police Jayant J Naiknavare.
CBI Joint Director Praveen Sinha, who was looking after the probe in coal scam cases, has been elevated as the Additional Director, the order said.
Sinha is a 1988 batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre.
Amit Kumar, who was working as Deputy Inspector General in the CBI, has been appointed Joint Director in the CBI.
Kumar, a 1998 batch IPS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre, was working in the agency's policy division.
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Karnataka MLCs question limestone mining nod to Adani Group despite legal objections
Bengaluru: Members of the Karnataka Legislative Council from both the treasury and opposition benches raised objections to the Mines and Geology Department’s decision to permit limestone mining by ACC Cement Limited, owned by the Adani Group, despite reservations expressed by the Law Department.
BJP MLC and former minister C T Ravi and Congress MLC K Shivakumar, speaking on behalf of party colleague Arati Krishna, said the department had overlooked the Law Department’s opinion in the matter, as reported by Deccan Herald.
Ravi told the House, on Tuesday that the Law Department had recommended initiating criminal proceedings against the company for allegedly failing to pay royalty amounting to Rs 850 crore to the government. “The Mines and Geology Department has not only failed to initiate action but has also renewed the company’s licence,” he said.
Both Ravi and Shivakumar sought clarity from the Mines and Geology Minister and urged the government to place on record the views of the Finance Department and the Advocate General regarding the issue.
Raising political questions over corporate links, Ravi asked what connection existed between “Ambani, Adani and the party that is always criticising them.”
Responding on behalf of Mines and Geology Minister S S Mallikarjun, Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy assured the House that action would be taken in accordance with the law.
He said the company had approached the court and, in compliance with judicial directions, the government permitted it to continue mining operations under its existing licence. “However, no new licence has been issued,” he clarified.
Addressing concerns over the recovery of pending royalty dues despite court orders, Chaluvarayaswamy said, “Adani is not a God here, and we have no connection with him. Royalty will be recovered as per the law.”
