Under secretary Anand Joshi — in charge of non-profits and their foreign funding — had allegedly removed critical files connected to the investigation against Setalvad. During the investigation, documents linked to the inquiry into the foreign funding of NGOs were found at his home. But ahead of his questioning by the agency last week, Joshi’s family reported that he had gone missing.
Joshi was detained on Sunday over arbitrary issuance of notices to NGOs. The agency said the official had sent notices to several non-profits that were receiving foreign funds and had demanded bribes to help them.
Joshi had claimed that he was being “pressurised and threatened by Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry B K Prasad to give clean chit to some of the NGOs,” which he had refused to obey.
The CBI began its probe against him after receiving a complaint from the ministry and subsequently searched his home and office.
It confiscated Rs 7.5 lakh from him. Important files of the Home Ministry as well as the Information and Broadcasting Ministry were recovered too. These are being examined by the agency.
Joshi was also allegedly behind some files related to Setalvad’s NGO Sabrang Trust going missing from the ministry a few months back. The files were later traced to the officer and restored. Sabrang Trust’s licence was suspended last year by the Home Ministry, which asked the organisation to explain its foreign funding.