CBI SP calls interim Director ‘not a man of honour’

New Delhi, Jan 29 (IASN) CBI Superintendent of Police T. Rajah Balaji, who filed a plea in the Supreme Court on Monday against his transfer order, called the agency's interim Director M. Nageswara "not a man of honour" in a strongly worded letter to him and expressed hope that he would "redeem humanity".

Balaji's reaction came after he was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) academy in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad from the Delhi Anti-Corruption Branch unit on January 22.

As the letter went viral, the CBI on Tuesday issued a statement saying, "the representation dated January 22 as reportedly submitted by T. Rajah Balaji about his transfer has not yet been received in CBI Director office and that as an when it is received, appropriate action will be taken. It may further be mentioned that Balaji has been transferred to Ghaziabad, which is part of the NCR only."

In its letter to Rao, Balaji said: "You (Rao) know better than me that your are not a man of any honour... I request you to search your heart and recall this fact you bear as an animosity to me... I request you on purely humanitarian grounds in the hope that you can truly make a start to redeem your humanity. It is never late in life to become a good man again..."

Balaji, through the letter, requested Rao to review his transfer mentioning it was his fourth transfer within a period of two years.

The SP said his last transfer order was issued on August 1, 2018 in pursuance of his request to then CBI Director Alok Verma for a posting in any New Delhi branch of the federal agency so as to enable his wife to be better placed to provide care to her mother who is a cancer patient in All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

After being relieved on September 28, 2018, Balaji said he had joined his present charge on October 10, 2018. He said Urban Development Minister allotted accommodation for him and his family recently in East Kidwai Nagar, which is close to AIIMS.

It is known fact, the letter further reads, that a three-member High Committee is to meet on January 24 to select the next CBI Director and as a matter of propriety, it was incumbent and necessary in your (Rao) capacity as only Director-in-charge not to go on a spree of mass transfers of various officers from the level of Joint Directors to Additional Superintendent of Police, and resort to any necessary transfer only on "rational grounds" that merit such a course in public interest.

"It is a known fact that I had complained about your misconduct to the then CBI Director in March 2017, and subsequently, when you had served me with a memo, your misconduct was set out in more explicit terms by me vide letter dated May 2, 2017. And, now you have abused your official position to service you personal sleepless malice and prejudice against me at the expense of institutional and public interests."

He said the official post of the Director cannot be used for any purpose other than the institutional and public interests.

Calling his January 21 transfer order "illegal", Balaji said it "does not offer any reasons and does not show how this is in institutional interest or in the public interest".

Balaji said the order is "plainly irrational" because while serving as Director-in-charge no review of the branches has been carried out to enable you to know why such mass transfers are necessary and further whey mine in particular is necessary.

Despite challenging his transfer order in the Supreme Court, Balaji has also written to Central Vigilance Commission levelling serious allegations against Rao.