Ministers seek to tighten rules against sexual harassment

NEW DELHI: India's government yesterday ordered a probe at the country's top crime fighting bureau after its two senior officers accused each other of bribery and interference in police investigations. The weeks-long public spat between Alok Verma, director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and his second-in-command, Rakesh Asthana, has embarrassed an agency that serves a similar role as the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The CBI is leading several high profile investigations such as the $2 billion fraud at Punjab National Bank involving fugitive diamond billionaire Nirav Modi, and loan defaults by liquor baron Vijay Mallya. The infighting intensified this week after CBI agents raided their own headquarters and arrested an officer accused of fabricating records to back Asthana's allegations against Verma. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said yesterday a special investigative team will probe the allegations leveled by Verma and Asthana against each other.

He did not detail the allegations. The government, faced with daily leaks and counter-leaks of wrongdoing at the CBI, appointed an interim director yesterday and asked the two officers to go on temporary leave. "To maintain the institutional integrity, the officers under the cloud must stand out, as an interim measure," Jaitley told reporters. "It is important to maintain the institutional integrity of the CBI". Verma and Asthana, both veterans of the police service, could not be reached for comment.

The CBI, has come under public scrutiny in the past. India's Supreme Court described the bureau as a "caged parrot" in 2013, criticizing the then attorney general for interfering in a CBI inquiry into the allocation of government coalfield licenses. The latest problems are a new low for India's elite police force, media commentators said. The "infighting points to a deep rot in the organization," the Business Standard newspaper said. "Even by the CBI's standards, this must count as a low point". The main opposition Congress party has attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not doing enough to ensure the CBI remained a credible, unbiased and independent police agency.

#MeToo movement

In another development, four Indian cabinet ministers will suggest steps to address sexual harassment at work, the government said yesterday, after a growing #MeToo movement sparked accusations against more than a dozen men and forced a minister to resign. The two men and two women will review existing provisions on women's safety and recommend further measures, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.

Women's groups say a requirement under current harassment laws that accusations have be made to a workplace complaints committee within three months is unfair. They also say it is not clear who takes responsibility for ensuring compliance once a decision is taken on a complaint. "The government is committed to ensure the safety and dignity of women in the workforce," said the ministry, whose boss, Rajnath Singh, will lead the group. India's junior minister for foreign affairs, MJ Akbar, resigned this month to fight accusations of sexual harassment from more than a dozen women during his previous career as a journalist. He has denied wrongdoing and filed a defamation suit against one of his accusers.

The #MeToo movement, which began in the United States more than a year ago, gained traction in India last month after an actress accused a veteran actor of behaving inappropriately 10 years ago. Since then many women have accused men from the worlds of media, Bollywood, politics and art of offences ranging from harassment to rape. The government statement yesterday also said that the Ministry of Women and Child Development had launched an "electronic complaints box" for harassment cases. - Agencies