CBI raids Harsh Mander's premises in connection with FCRA violation case

New Delhi: The CBI on Friday conducted searches at the premises of Modi-critic Harsh Mander and his NGO Centre for Equity Studies (CES), accusing it of transferring Rs 32.71 lakh to individuals and organisations by violating the provisions of laws related to foreign funding after registering a case.

Searches were conducted at two locations in Delhi, including official and residential premises of the accused.

"It has been alleged that the NGO had transferred Rs. 32,71,915/- (Approx.), other than salary/wages/remuneration, from its FCRA account into the account of individual(s) during 2020-21 in violation of the provisions of FCRA, 2010. It has also been alleged that the NGO had also diverted funds from its FCRA account through the firm(s) in violation of the provisions of FCRA, 2010," a CBI statement said.

In a statement, Harsh Mander said he was "further strengthened in his resolve...my life, my writings and my work are my only response." Around 250 activists and academicians issued a statement in support of Harsh Mander saying the case is "entirely fabricated and without any material basis" while demanding closure of all cases against him and CES.

"Today’s raid is a part of the long chain of harassment of Harsh Mander, his colleagues, his family and former and present board members of the CES. It is important to know that since 2020 multiple investigating agencies of the government...have been carrying out what can only be described as a vindictive witch hunt,” they said.

“In not a single case has a chargesheet been presented in a court of law. These egregious attacks on Harsh Mander and the CES are an attack on all of civil society in India and all those who work to promote constitutional values," they said.

Earlier, an MHA order on June 14 last suspending CES' licence under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 had said that the law prohibits acceptance of foreign contribution by correspondents, columnists, cartoonists, editor, owner, printer, publisher of a registered newspaper but Mander has been writing articles in newspapers and web portals. It was claimed that he accepted foreign contributions as "professional receipts/payments" from FCRA account.

This is not the first time that Mander, who was a member of Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council, has faced a case. In September 2021, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had conducted searches at premises linked to Mander in a money laundering case, which was based on a Delhi Police FIR.

Earlier, the MHA had asked the CBI to probe Mander's another NGO Aman Biradari for allegedly violating provisions of the FCRA.

The police had registered a case against Mander-led Centre for Equity Studies (CES) in February 2021 following a complaint by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), accusing it of violations in two children's homes 'Umeed Aman Ghar' and 'Khushi Rainbow Home'.

The NCPCR had claimed that it had found financial and administrative irregularities in the running of the children's homes and also alleged in court that they were informed by the children that they had been taken to protest sites. However, Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) had contradicted NCPCR claims and had supported Mander's claim that CES was facing trouble because of political vendetta.