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Govt reinstates IAS officer in Zakir Naik NGO funding case
Senior IAS officer GK Dwivedi, who was suspended after controversial preacher Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation’s licence to receive foreign funding was renewed under his watch despite several ongoing probes against the NGO, has been reinstated by the government.
Senior IAS officer GK Dwivedi, who was suspended after controversial preacher Zakir Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation’s licence to receive foreign funding was renewed under his watch despite several ongoing probes against the NGO, has been reinstated by the government.
The IRF’s license was renewed despite the Union home ministry’s questionnaire seeking clarification of its funding and spending. Naik’s NGO was facing other criminal probes as well.
Following Dwivedi’s suspension, the home ministry had initiated an inquiry against him and three other officials of the foreigners division, that grants or renews foreign funding license of any NGO.
“No direct role of Dwivedi has emerged in the fiasco. A further course of action is being contemplated in the matter,” a home ministry official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said.
The ministry will soon decide the quantum of punishment for those officials who were directly held for lapses, added the official.
Despite reinstatement, Dwivedi will not come back to the home ministry as his services have been put at the disposal of the department of personnel and training. He is at moment put on compulsory wait and he will have to wait for a new posting.
Following Dwivedi’s suspension, many of his colleagues in the home ministry met home minister Rajnath Singh and home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi urging them to revoke his suspension as he had initiated many reforms in the foreigners division.
Naik and his NGO have become the target of multi-agency probe ever since it came to light that two of the terrorists behind the July 1 attack in Dhaka were allegedly inspired by Naik’s speeches.
The IRF has been banned from receiving foreign funds directly and the home ministry has asked RBI to seek prior permission from it before releasing any money to the NGO.
