CBI raids premises of NGO founded by rights activist Harsh Mander
An FIR has been registered against Aman Biradari for alleged violation of various provisions of the FCRA following a complaint by the Union Home Ministry
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case of alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act against an NGO established by writer and human rights activist Harsh Mander and conducted searches at its premises on Friday (February 2), officials said.
Mander, an ex-IAS officer and a former member of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council during the erstwhile UPA government, is the founder of the NGO Aman Biradari.
The FIR has been registered against Aman Biradari for alleged violation of various provisions of the FCRA following a complaint by the Union Home Ministry.
Harsh Mander has been a vocal critic of the Modi government during the past 10 years for its alleged majoritarian agenda. He has spearheaded civil society’s campaign against communal disharmony in the country. His NGO, Centre for Equity Studies (CES), has carried out research work to highlight the central government’s failure to ensure equity and safety for all Indians.
This is not the first time that he has been targeted by the government’s investigative agencies. In September 2021, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided his home, his office, and a children’s home in Mehrauli that his NGO helped set up. At that time, several rights groups in the country had condemned the raids as “harassment”.
Noted public interest lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan posted on X, “CBI is raiding Harsh Mander’s house and office. He has been one of the most gentle, humane, and generous activists who has worked tirelessly for the weak and poor. He is being targeted only because he has been critical of this govt. All agencies are being blatantly used to target critics.”
Last year, the union home ministry suspended CES’s FCRA licence, invoking Section 3 of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act which “bars any correspondent, columnist, cartoonist, editor, owner, printer, or publisher of a registered newspaper” from receiving any foreign contributions.
The central investigative agencies have been accused of selectively targeting opposition leaders and critics of the Modi government. The news website The Wire had reported sometime ago that there has been a four-fold jump in ED cases since 2014, and 95 per cent of these cases have been against political leaders of the opposition.
(With inputs from agencies)
