Ghaziabad: Anand Joshi, an Under Secretary in the Home Ministry who is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), mysteriously went missing on Wednesday.
The official left a note behind addressed to his wife, claiming he was facing mental harassment and has made too many enemies while serving the nation.
Joshi was called to the CBI’s headquarters on Wednesday to face questioning over alleged corruption while dealing with foreign-funded NGOs.
The controversy follows the Home Ministry’s crackdown on foreign-funded organisations, which raised eyebrows soon after the Narendra Modi-led NDA government took power in 2014.
As well as Joshi, the officials in the Foreigner’s Division who deal with the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) are under the scanner for their regulation of foreign-funded NGOs.
A Home Ministry spokesperson did not wish to comment on the matter as investigations are ongoing.
The Home Ministry has cracked the whip on several foreign-funded NGOs, including a high-profile international environment activist group, cancelling its FCRA registration.
It is alleged that Joshi served 60- 70 notices to NGOs arbitrarily in November 2015 without taking the proper approvals.
He is also accused of stealing a file relating to the Sabrang Trust which went missing in March 2016.
Sabrang, an NGO run by Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand, has been under the Home Ministry’s scrutiny for various FCRA violations.
However, Joshi has claimed that file was never in his possession.
The official has also hit back, making serious allegations against Additional Secretary B K Prasad who heads the foreigner’s division.
Prasad calls the charges against him “rubbish and baseless.”
“The CBI is investigating the matter and the truth will come out,” he said.
Joshi had claimed that he was pressured by his superior to give a clean chit to some of the NGOs which were served FCRA notices, including the Ford Foundation.
Speaking at their home in Indirapuram, his wife said Joshi was last seen at around 2am, following which he went to sleep.
“When I woke up around 7.30am, the main door was ajar and he (Joshi) wasn’t there. I later found the note he left behind,” she said.
Police teams rushed to the senior officer’s house and his wife’s statement was recorded.
The police also took a copy of the note which Joshi left behind, a senior police official said.
Source: https://www.tkbsen.in/2016/05/home-ministry-official-goes-missing-leaves-behind-note-alleging-harassment
