IAS officer in home ministry held for leaks

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police detained a director-level IAS officer in the ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Monday on suspicion of leaking sensitive documents to a leading corporate house. HT reports.

The Special Cell of the Delhi Police detained a director-level IAS officer in the ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Monday on suspicion of leaking sensitive documents to a leading corporate house.

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Police said Ravi Inder Singh, director of internal security in the MHA, a 1994 batch officer, has not yet been formally arrested. “He is only detained,” said PN Aggarwal, special commissioner of police (Special Cell).

Singh had been under surveillance for some time, with home secretary GK Pillai having authorised the police to tap his telephones. Several charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act have been slapped against Singh.

Singh’s responsibilities included security clearances for the corporate sector including telecom companies such as Black-Berry, with which the ministry is engaged in a long drawn out dispute over disclosure of information for security purposes.

Singh’s responsibilities required him to interact closely with the Intelligence Bureau.

Singh is the third IAS officer to be booked this year. IAS officer O Ravi, a joint secretary handling disaster management, and RS Sharma, a director-rank officer handling police modernisation, were held on similar charges in April.