Top Bosses Sent Away, Headless CBI Struggles To Handle Crucial Cases

A London court will announce its decision on fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya's extradition on December 10, but with CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana sent on forced leave by the central government, it's still unclear who will represent the agency at the hearing. But the Mallya case is not the only one that the investigative agency seems clueless about. According to sources, officers have stopped taking decisions on pending cases in the wake of the bureaucratic bloodbath that followed Mr Asthana's public tiff with CBI chief Alok Verma. "As most officers are unwilling to take on new responsibilities in such a scenario, they are not putting anything on file. Many cases are suffering because of this," a senior CBI officer said on the condition of anonymity.