New Delhi: With India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) embroiled in the murky and egregious CBI versus CBI battle, the government is keen to appoint an untainted officer as its new head. As December 31 approaches, the hea-ds of both the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and RAW will make way for their successors. The terms of both RAW chief A.K. Dhasmana and IB director Rajiv Jain end on the last day of the year.

Sources said Samant Goel, a 1984-batch IPS officer of the Punjab cadre whose name figured in the CBI bribery case and who is supposedly close to benched CBI official Rakesh Asthana, involved in a spat with CBI director Alok Verma, is the frontrunner for the RAW chief’s post along with K. Illango of the Jammu and Kashmir cadre. Both are special secretaries with the RAW.

Arvind Kumar, a 1984-batch Bihar-cadre IPS officer who is currently a special director in the IB, and Madhya Pradesh police chief R.K. Shukla are among the top contenders for the IB chief’s job.

As compared to RAW, the transition at the top in the IB could be much smoother. Arvind Kumar is considered an expert on Kashmir with specialisation in counter-terrorism and is the favourite to bag the IB chief’s job considering Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal focus on Kashmir.

Sources in the intelligence establishment said that in a fair, merit-based selection for the new RAW chief the winner should be Mr Illango, but with a lot of rumours churning around, it could be anyone’s game.

In the CBI versus CBI case, it has been alleged that Mr Goel tried to dilute the Moin Qureshi money-laundering and corruption investigation with the help of alleged middlemen and brothers Manoj and Somesh Prasad, who are in custody in the Asthana bribery case.

Sources said that Mr Dhasmana is trying hard to hang around, but with RAW underbelly exposed during the CBI episode, his “Plan A” for succession was Samant Goel, which is now unlikely. The outgoing RAW chief’s “Plan B”  is to promote Vivek Jauhari, over and ahead of Mr Illango and R. Kumar,  both highly competent officers but not deemed conducive to the strong “northerner’s lobby” in the agency.

Mr Goel’s fading chances to occupying the top post are linked to his name surfacing in the bribery case against benched special CBI director Mr Asthana. Indias deep state head Ajit Doval will be giving his inputs on the same.

In the CBI versus CBI case, it has been alleged that Mr Goel tried to dilute the Moin Qureshi money-laundering and corruption investigation with the help of alleged middlemen and brothers Manoj and Somesh Prasad, who are in custody in the Asthana bribery case. Incidentally, the Prasad brothers’ father (Dineshwar Prasad) was also a senior RAW officer in the past.

The RAW claims to have intercepted telephone conversations and WhatsApp messages suggesting a link between Mr Goel and the brothers.

It needs to be mentioned here that Mr Goel is considered close to Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who wants to appoint him as the state police chief. Mr Goel is playing up his role in countering the Khalistani propaganda in Europe against India to pitch in for the top job. Recently, Pakistan-backed Khalistani groups carried out the “Referendum 2020” in the UK seeking a separate homeland for the Sikhs despite protests by the Indian government.

Mr Illango, an old RAW hand was recalled from his posting as RAW’s Colombo station chief in early 2015 at the behest of the Sri Lankan government, which accused him of trying to help the Opposition oust Mahinda Rajapaksa as President.  India’s foreign ministry, however, had denied the allegation and said that Mr Illango’s sudden transfer was a routine one.

In a bloodless coup, Mr Illango reportedly engineered the fall of the all-powerful, Chinese-leaning Rajapaksa. Mr Illango was accused of links with the Sri Lankan Opposition, and Colombo had urged New Delhi to recall him and Ajit Doval finally had to rush to Colombo to defuse the crisis.

In the CBI versus CBI case involving Mr Goel, the Delhi high court recently allowed benched CBI director Verma and joint director A.K. Sharma to inspect files of the bribery case against Mr Asthana, now with the Central Vigilance Commission, to check whether any evidence has been tampered with. The court has extended till December 7 its order directing the CBI to maintain status quo in the proceedings against Mr Asthana.

Earlier, CBI official M.K. Sinha, who was probing the case against Mr Asthana, created waves in the case by filing a petition in the Supreme Court, alleging bribery and involvement of the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Doval, the central vigilance commissioner, a Union minister, the Cabinet secretary and the law secretary. The apex court slammed the petitioner for going public with his allegations despite the strict instructions to maintain secrecy in the matter.

(Financial Chronicle)