India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval summoned CBI chief Alok Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana and asked them to go on leave as the government wanted to restore normalcy in the top investigating agency as the feud between the two became ugly. The National Security Advisor summoned both officials to the Prime Minister's Office late in the night and an order was issued by the appointments committee headed by the Prime Minister asking the two officers to go on leave while appointing M Nageshwar Rao as the interim boss of the CBI.
The same was conveyed to Rao, whose next job was to seal the offices of Verma and Asthana. He went about his job amidst tight security. Following this the two officers were informed about the decision taken by the government. On Wednesday morning the two officers were allowed to enter their offices. It was also decided that there would be no movement of files from their offices.
The decision to send Asthana on leave was in fact taken on Tuesday itself. This was decided after he decided to take the CBI to court challenging the corruption case filed against him. The CBI was directed to maintain status quo and was also ordered to not arrest Asthana until the next date of hearing.
