At least 40 locations across the country were raided and several officials came under the scanner
New Delhi, May 11: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) undertook a massive operation to crackdown on alleged corruption in the Foreigners Division in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
At least 40 locations across the country were raided and several officials came under the scanner and are being questioning for allegedly giving clearance to several NGOs in exchange for bribes.
The CBI said that searches were carried out to nab representatives of NGOs, middlemen and public servants of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) division of MHA for committing violations of FCRA provisions and facilitating illegal clearances in lieu of bribes. The raids were conducted in Delhi, Chennai, Mysuru, Rajasthan, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and other places.
The CBI found that transactions to the tune of Rs 2 crore through hawala transactions were found during the raids. Some officers were also caught red-handed while accepting bribes.
The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) division of MHA is responsible for granting permission to NGOs under the FCRA to receive funds from abroad. This decision is division is also responsible for the cancellation of the licences of the NGOs that violate the law.
An official tells OneIndia that several NGOs have been under the scanner for long. There are 16,890 NGOs registered with the MHA and the registration over around 20,600 NGOs have been cancelled for various violations in the past decade.
In March, the MHA had told the Parliament that it had rejected the renewal licences of 466 NGOs since 2020.
Among the several NGOs whose registration had not been renewed are Oxfam Trust, Jamia Milia Islamic, Indian Youth Centres Trust and Tuberculosis Association of India.
In 2020 too the government had cracked down on several NGOs. The registration to receive foreign donations for religious purposes were suspended and their bank accounts were frozen, following reports from the Intelligence Bureau which said that these NGOs in several states, especially Jharkhand were converting locals to Christianity.
NGOs and missionaries continue to indulge in activities that are against the nation. The aim of the missionaries for long has been to break Indian society. They exploit the existing fault lines along religion, caste, community, language, ethnicity and race. They set up conversion factories, target the tribals in a bid to divide society.
As part of the larger conspiracy the missionaries have been funding the naxalites, leftist thinkers especially in the main-stream English media. Many write ups have appeared in which it is made too look as though Hinduism is nothing but a religion of superstition.
Articles blaming Hinduism for all the evils in society have also surfaced several times.
Funding comes in various forms. Foreign funding forms bulk of the amount and there are dedicated Churches abroad to oversee this. Collecting big donations in convent schools are also part of the exercise. Funding through allied businesses such as driving schools, computer institutes, de-addiction centres and vocational training institutes too have been found. However a large part of the funding has always been through NGOs.
Funds have also been raised through militant outfits and naxalites. Extortion, national tax as has been seen in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are some examples of this. Income raised through illegal mining, tree felling and the money raised through drug trade have also found its way into the coffers of the missionaries.