NEW DELHI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Senior officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS) Alok Verma resigned on Friday, apparently as a mark of protest against his removal as the investigation agency chief by the government.
On Thursday evening, he was transferred from the post of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director to the chief of the "Fire Services, Civil Defence, and Home Guards," only two days after he was reinstated on the orders of the Supreme Court of India.
The apex court had reinstated Verma as CBI chief after a gap of 11 weeks. In October, both Verma and his deputy Rakesh Asthana were sent on "forced leave" after the two were found involved in a bitter feud, both leveling corruption charges against each other.
Barely a few hours after he assumed the office as CBI Director on Thursday, Verma was removed as the spy chief by a select committee comprising Supreme Court Justice A.K. Sikri, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who gave a note of dissent.
On Friday morning, he refused to take charge of his new office as the chief of "Fire Services, Civil Defence, and Home Guards," and tendered his resignation.
According to highly placed sources in the government, the select panel which removed Verma as the CBI director, believed that as the head of a very sensitive organization, Verma was "not functioning with the integrity expected of him."
