New Delhi:
Senior Home Ministry officer Ravi Inder Singh, who is accused of leaking secret information, has been sent to police custody till November 30.
He was arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act on Tuesday. He has also been charged with conspiracy, under section 120 B of the Indian Penal Code.
The police have also arrested a West Bengal businessman, who they say was the conduit, who passed on sensitive information on security clearances to telecom operators.
It is alleged, Singh sold security secrets not just for money, but also for sex.
Singh was handling almost 5,000 security-related cases linked to telecom, mining, shipping and surface transport.
"What he has done is very serious. We will take appropriate action. He has misused commercial information," said UK Bansal, Special Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs.
Intelligence agencies had been watching Singh for the past few months. Two months ago, they stumbled upon conversations between him and the middleman.
- According to sources, the broker was trying to work out a deal with a telecom company which was waiting for security clearance from the Home Ministry.
- The broker allegedly asked for several crores to give updates and help influence the security clearance.
- Singh and the broker apparently used elaborate codes such as 'Prasad' for bribes and 'Ladoos' to describe the amount a deal was worth.
Almost 24 hours after he was picked up for questioning, the Delhi Police still maintained that they had not arrested the officer, and that they were questioning him to try and get leads in the case. They are now checking Ravi Inder Singh and his broker's bank accounts and phone logs and transcripts.