Post-Retirement, Controversial Top Cop Rakesh Asthana Lands NHRC 'Monitor' Role

New Delhi: Former Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana, a controversial figure in his time, has been picked for a post-retirement assignment by the Union government. Asthana, as a special director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2018, was involved in a feud with the then director of the investigating agency, Alok Verma.

Asthana was accused of bribery and extortion by the CBI. In October 2018, hearing a petition, the Supreme Court had asked Asthana to go on leave. Later, In January 2019, a high powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi removed Verma from the director’s post. By then, several news reports had pointed out that Asthana had always landed plush positions in the government because of his proximity with the top brass in the Modi government.

Also read: Modi Ousts CBI Chief Alok Verma as Asthana Case Reaches Breakpoint

While at the CBI, Asthana had been in the news also because of the investigation into the multi-crore fodder scam in which a strident Modi baiter and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was an accused.

In July 2021, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister, however, picked Asthana, a 1984-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, as Delhi Police chief in ‘public interest’ four days before he was to retire. His extension led civil society advocacy group Common Cause to petition the Supreme Court. This February, the apex court dismissed the case stating that the matter became infructuous as he had retired from the post in July 2022.

On November 22, the Union government has brought back Asthana as one of the seven ‘special monitors’ of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

According to a New Indian Express report, Asthana will oversee thematic areas of NHRC like terrorism, counter-insurgency, communal riots and violence related to left-wing extremism.

The six other ‘special monitors’ named in the November 22 order were IPS officer Mukesh Chandra, Amitabh Agnihotri, Sanjay Aggarwal, R.K. Sama, Manohar Agani and Jyotsna Sitling. 

News reports said while Mukesh Chandra will monitor at NHRC the responsibility of monitoring cyber crimes and artificial intelligence, Amitabh Agnihotri will supervise climate change, environment and human rights related issues. 

Sanjay Aggarwal has been put in charge of monitoring elementary education. While R.K. Sama will be the ‘special monitor’ for water, sanitation and hygiene at the Commission, Manohar Agani will oversee public health, healthcare, HIV-AIDS and spurious drugs. Jyotsna Sitling will monitor livelihood, employment and skilling.

Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that former CBI director Alok Verma had also been accused of bribery and extortion by the CBI. In fact, no such accusation was levelled. Rakesh Asthana made allegations against Verma which were probed by a Justice Pattnaik, a former judge of the Supreme Court and found to be unwarranted.

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