CBI raids Harsh Mander's office, residence in FCRA violation probe
CBI's searches at Harsh Mander's office and residence in FCRA violation case follows a money laundering probe by the ED in 2021
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday conducted searches at the office and residence of retired IAS officer and activist Harsh Mander in connection with a probe related to the violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had recommended a CBI inquiry last year into the foreign funding of Aman Biradari, a non-government organisation (NGO) founded by Harsh Mander.
This follows a money laundering probe initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in September 2021, where Mander's residence was previously raided. The investigation is centred around two NGOs associated with him.
Who is Harsh Mander?
• Harsh Mander is a rights activist associated with the right to food, the right to information, bonded labour and the right of Adivasis.
• He is the Director of the Delhi-based think tank Centre for Equity Studies.
• He is the author of several books including Between Memory and Forgetting: Massacre and the Modi Years in Gujarat, Partitions of the Heart: Unmaking the Idea of India, The Right to Food Debates: Social Protection for Food Security in India.
• Harsh Mander was also a member of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council during the erstwhile UPA government.