Congress workers protest outside CBI office in Mumbai

The protest was led by state Congress leaders  Sanjay Nirupam  and others.

"We staged protest in Mumbai against the dictatorship of PM Modi who removed #CBI chief unconstitutionally to scuttle an enquiry against his dubious role in #RafaleScam #CBIRafaleGate," tweeted Nirupam.

Congress leaders like Priya Dutt and party workers joined the demonstration in the city.

The Mumbai Congress tweeted: "Huge crowd gathered to Protest today outside CBI Office in BKC where Mumbai Congress President @sanjaynirupam along with senior leaders , Office Bearers & Karyakartas participated. #ModiSeCBIBachao."

In a face-off with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday courted arrest after leading his party's protest against the Union government's decision to remove Alok Verma as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief in the national capital, media reports said.

Rahul was joined by opposition leaders, who belong to other political parties, who had also courted arrest by going to Lodhi Road Police Station.

Rahul has marched from Dayal Singh College on Lodhi Road to the CBI headquarters. 

The Centre on Wednesday midnight sent both Verma and the federal probe agency's special director, Rakesh Asthana, on leave after the two were engaged in a rift.

Launching a fresh attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the removal of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chief without consulting the Chief Justice of India and leader of the Opposition is unconstitutional and illegal.

Questioning the timing of the removal of the CBI chief, Rahul said: "The main reason for this removal of CBI Director at midnight is that the CBI was going to begin an investigation on the role of PM in Rafale scam and the corruption carried out by him."

The CBI on Monday arrested its Deputy Superintendent of Police, Devender Kumar, in connection with a bribery case that laid bare the probe agency's internal conflict.

The CBI said Kumar was arrested on charges of falsification of records in an ongoing investigation and said “the role of other officers of SIT (special investigation team) CBI, then supervising the Moin Qureshi case” was also being probed, reported Hindustan Times.

After bribery charges were slapped against him, Asthana in a written statement to the government said a "false FIR (First Information Report)" has been lodged against him".

Asthana has been named by Satish Sana, a Hyderabad businessman, who was being investigated in a case involving meat exporter Moin Qureshi, arrested in a money laundering case, the report said.

Sana claimed he had to cough up a bribe of Rs. two crores to Rakesh Asthana over a period of over 10-months so that he is not named in the CBI case against Moin Qureshi.

However, Asthana rubbished the charges saying it was hurled against him owing to a conspiracy between the accuser and some CBI and Enforcement Directorate officers. 

Challenging his removal, Verma had moved the Supreme Court which on Friday said the alleged bribery case, which involves the exiled CBI chief, must be probed in two weeks. The top court will hear the case next after Diwali on Nov 12. 

Asthana too moved the apex court on Friday against his removal by the Centre.