Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami was given his marching orders late on Wednesday night for allegedly trying to stall the arrest of Saradha scam accused and former Minister Matang Sinh. The final decision was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh met and discussed the issue, a highly placed source in the Ministry told The Hindu.

An official source in the Ministry said: “The Home Secretary has resigned. I have no further details.”

Another source said Mr. Goswami was asked to resign. He is the third top ranking bureaucrat to have been shunted out since the Modi government took charge. Earlier, in January, the tenures of Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and Defence Research and Development Organisation chief Avinash Chander were cut short.

An official order late at night said Mr. Goswami’s request for “voluntarily retiring from service” was accepted with immediate effect. Rural Development Secretary L.C. Goyal was appointed in his place, the order from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet said.

The Hindu had reported the unsavoury controversy after details of Mr. Goswami’s calls were shared by Ministry officials with the Home Minister on Tuesday. Mr. Goswami, who was summoned by Mr. Singh on Wednesday morning, admitted to calling Central Bureau of Investigation officials dealing with the Saradha case, an official revealed. The Home Minister met Mr. Goswami and CBI Director Anil Sinha in the matter separately, but in quick succession, in North Block on Wednesday morning. The meetings lasted over 30 minutes each, it was added.

“During his meeting with the Home Minister, Mr. Goswami confirmed that he had made the calls,” the official said. There are no details available for the explanation offered by Mr. Goswami for speaking with the CBI special investigation team. Sources in Mr. Singh’s office confirmed that he subsequently briefed Mr. Modi about the matter and the two meetings he had. Mr. Goswami’s tenure would have ended in June this year, but has been curtailed following the serious charges. While he remained unavailable for comment till late into the night, he went on with his official routine after meeting the Home Minister. He attended office till late in the evening and held a meeting with Defence Ministry officials.

Accused in the multi-crore Saradha scam, Sinh was arrested by the CBI team last Saturday.

“His phone was under surveillance for some time before the arrest and call records showed that Sinh had also spoken with the Home Secretary,” a source said.
(The Hindu)