Home Secy Anil Goswami sacked after he stalled arrest of Matang Sinh

According to latest reports, Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami has been fired over his role in the Saradha chit fund scam. According to media reports, Anil Goswami was summoned by the Prime Minister’s Office over reports that he tried to influence and stall the arrest of former Union minister Matang Sinh who was involved in the Saradha chit-fund scam. News agency ANI reported that Goswami was given a chance to put forward his version of the issue. [caption id=“attachment_2079749” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami.[/caption] Sinh was arrested on 31 January in connection with the Saradha Realty case on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating. He had been earlier questioned by the Enforcement Directorate, too. Sinh had told reporters when he was being questioned, “Getting into a business deal is not a crime.” The Indian Express had reported that the Modi government was probing a senior government official’s role in trying to stall the arrest of former Union minister Matang Sinh. Goswami, who is reportedly close to the former minister, has admitted to having called a CBI official and attempted to dissuade his arrest, NDTV reported. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi but any action is likely to be taken only after the Delhi polls, wherein Goswami is overseeing security arrangements. “The Home Minister has  been apprised of the matter and he will take appropriate action when he has all the facts on his table. We are yet to hear anything from the CBI officially. We are keeping a close watch on the developments. If this has happened, it is a serious misuse of power,” a top Home Ministry official told The Indian Express. Goswami, a 1978 batch IAS officer, is the first bureaucrat from Jammu and Kashmir to rise to the post of Union Home Secretary. He retires in July after a two-year term. If removed earlier, Anil Goswami will be the third senior bureaucrat to have a run-in with the Narendra Modi government. Earlier Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and DRDO chief Avinash Chander were removed before their tenure ended. The Saradha Chit fund scam flourished by promising small investors irresistible rate of returns of around 20 percent and in turn gave its agents hefty commissions.