Lalu Yadav’s IRCTC scam takes centre stage in rift between CBI Chief and Deputy

NEW DELHI: The log records of a secure internal communication line, details of a flight missed by a senior official and his testimony hold key to CBI special director Rakesh Asthana’s allegations that the agency’s chief, Alok Verma, tried to stall raids against Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad last year.
As first reported by ET, Asthana alleged that the CBI director had asked him to call off raids over the IRCTC hotel scandal in which Lalu Prasad is an accused. The agency has denied Asthana’s allegation against its chief as “baseless and frivolous”, and termed it as an attempt to “intimidate the officers” investigating his role in at least half a dozen cases.

Records of purported calls between the two senior most CBI officials a day before the “targeted” raids in Patna in July last year can prove crucial to Asthana’s claims, said people with direct knowledge of the matter. Government agencies use an SIP (session initiation protocol) — a secure line — for internal communication.

Asthana has indicated to the government that the SIP log records of the day could be retrieved to ascertain the veracity of his claim.

It has been claimed that at least two calls were made between Verma and Asthana on the day and that the duo had a heated exchange over the raids organised by Asthana.

The CBI had obtained court warrants to conduct raids in connection with the IRCTC hotel scandal involving Lalu Prasad, his family members and others, the people said. The warrants were obtained on July 5, 2017. Raids were organised in as many as 10 locations in Patna, Delhi, Gurgaon, Bhubaneswar and Ranchi. Teams of CBI sleuths were briefed on July 6 to start raids the next morning (July 7) at 7 am.

A senior officer of the rank of joint director from Delhi was deputed to supervise the raids as there was no officer of the rank of deputy inspector general at that time in Patna to oversee the raids.

As per the plan, the officer was to take an Air India flight on July 6 to Patna. Asthana claimed that since the director asked to call off the raids, the joint director didn’t leave for the airport.


The joint director was the one who purportedly informed Asthana that he had been asked not to travel to Patna.

Asthana then allegedly received a call — on SIP — from Verma, who was in North Block, asking him to call off the raids, the people said.

Verma allegedly cited “law and order” problems that could be triggered by raids on Lalu Prasad as a concern. Then Asthana called up Verma, where he refused to cancel the raids and assured him that no ruckus would be created.

The joint director was then instructed by Asthana to leave for Patna.

The officer was asked to take a late evening flight by a private airline.

Asthana indicated that the fact that the officer missed his scheduled Air India flight could be easily verified from records. Also, the SIP log records could be dug out to ascertain the veracity of his claim that Verma had phoned him, he suggested.

ET was the first to report on September 29 that Asthana had shot off three representations to the Central Vigilance Commission seeking constitution of a special investigation team to probe the six cases “generated” by Verma against him (Asthana) to “malign his reputation”.

Asthana has demanded that since he had complained against Verma and his deputy, the two should not be allowed to supervise the probe.