Days after two government officials were apprehended by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on September 28 for allegedly seeking bribes to process registrations under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) repatriated three of the five senior officers of the Foreigners Division-II to their parent cadre.
Preliminary questioning has revealed that the two officials were allegedly in contact with various associations and offered assistance in securing FCRA registrations and renewals in return for illegal payments. The two officials who were arrested, one serving as a Senior Accountant and the other as an Accountant, are accused of approaching an association and seeking illegal gratification in exchange for facilitating its pending FCRA registration. Investigators are examining the extent of their activities and whether other entities may have been involved. The alleged racket in connivance with former and present MHA officials was running for the over six months and was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The renewals are done every five years.
Joint Director Saurabh Bansal and Deputy Director Ayush Bansal, who were posted in Foreigners-II division and both belonging to the Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICAS) were repatriated to their parent cadre, according to an MHA order issued on October 1. In 2022, the MHA had identified at least three consultants who were offering various services pertaining to the FCRA to Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) after obtaining confidential details from the ministry officials. In 2016, on the MHA’s complaint, the CBI had raided the residence of a Home Ministry official Anand Joshi for his alleged role in corrupt practices and walking away with the files pertaining to foreign funds violations by social activist Teesta Setalvad. The accused issued a notice arbitrarily to environmentalist Sunita Narain’s Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in November 2015. Joshi came under scanner after he arbitrarily issued standard questionnaires to 20 odd NGOs, the first step to probe foreign funds violations under the FCRA. In the wake of the corruption allegations, the MHA in 2016 switched to an online renewal system for FCRA-registered NGOs, to reduce the human interface, after several NGOs complained of bribes sought by officials to renew their registration.
Another official, Rajesh Kumar T, a ICAS officer posted as a Deputy Secretary in Foreigners Division-II, has been “surrendered” to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for “premature repatriation” to his parent cadre, according to an October 2 order. The arrests were carried out in coordination with Central agencies, according to a MHA statement earlier. The statement said one of the accused is currently posted in the Foreigners Division. A CBI official said Mr.
The second official is presently posted in a Pay and Accounts Office but had previously served in the Foreigners Division.
