New Delhi: The CBI has filed a charge sheet against Home Ministry officials, NGO representatives and others arrested two months ago for allegedly running a bribery ring that helped NGOs receive foreign funds in violation of India's exchange law, officials said Monday.
The charge sheet, submitted before a special court on Saturday, has been filed within 60 days of the arrests made on May 11, the officials said. Had the CBI missed the 60-day deadline, the arrested accused would have become eligible for default bail by a special court, the officials said. It was alleged that several officials were allegedly involved in exchanging bribes for facilitating clearances of foreign donations to the NGOs in alleged violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) rules. The agency had registered the case on May 10 against 36 people including seven officials of the Home Ministry's FCRA division and National Informatics Centre, some middlemen, and NGO representatives on a complaint from the ministry.
The next day, the agency had arrested 14 people including six serving officials of the ministry after searches at 40 locations in a countrywide crackdown. The agency has not included the names of two arrested accused in the charge sheet as the probe has been kept open, they said. Those arrested in the operation included MHA officials Senior Accountant Pramod Kumar Bhasin, Accounts Officer Alok Ranjan, Accountant Raj Kumar, Assistant Director Shaheed Khan, MHA officer Mohammed Gazanfar Ali and Tushar Kanti Roy. Some of them were working in the FCRA division of the ministry while some had worked their at some point of time.
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Eight private persons including NGO representatives were also taken into custody during the crackdown, they said. In a communication to the CBI on March 29, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla had said that at least three FCRA clearance networks were working in close collaboration with some government officials. The three networks, having links with the government officials, were allegedly charging "speed money" and "problems resolution fees" to expedite the FCRA clearance to the NGOs and resolve issues related to the application process for new registrations and renewals, the officials said.
Bhalla also conveyed to CBI Director Subodh Kumar Jaiswal the government's approval for a thorough investigation into the alleged fraud and requested him to take necessary action. The home secretary had sent the letter to the CBI chief after Home Minister Amit Shah was briefed about the development and he ordered immediate and strictest possible action against those involved. (PTI)
