Headlines
Home secretary Anil Goswami resigns
Home Secretary Anil Goswami resigned Wednesday after he was told by the
government to put in his papers over his alleged role in trying to
stall the arrest of former Congress minister Matang Sinh in the
multi-crore-rupee Saradha scam.
Official sources said Goswami handed over his resignation to Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
"The
home secretary has resigned. He met the home minister and submitted his
resignation," said an official who did not want to be identified.
Goswami
is the third senior official who had to resign or whose services were
curtailed by the government over the past few weeks.
Sujatha
Singh was removed as foreign secretary last week while the term of
Avinash Chander as chief of the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) was curtailed last month.
K. Durga Prasad was
apparently removed as chief of the Special Protection Group (SPG)
during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Nepal and he has now been
posted in the Central Reserve Police Force.
Sources said Goswami
was summoned by Rajnath Singh earlier in the day. He is learnt to have
explained his position following the controversy over his calls to
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials dealing with the Saradha
chit fund scam case.
The sources said there have been top-level consultations in the government over the issue.
Rajnath Singh is also learnt to have spoken to CBI director Anil Sinha.
Goswami,
an IAS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, was appointed home secretary
during the term of the previous United Progressive Alliance government.
There were reports that he had spoken to CBI officers following their decision to arrest Matang Sinh.
Matang
Sinh, who was minister of state in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government in
the 1990s, was arrested Jan 31 by the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI) in Kolkata on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and
misappropriation of funds in the Saradha scam.
L.C. Goyal is new home secretary
The government Wednesday appointed rural development ministry Secretary L.C. Goyal as the new home secretary in place of Anil Goswami who resigned.A home ministry release said Goyal's term will be for two years.
"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of L.C. Goyal, IAS, secretary, department of rural development, ministry of rural development as home secretary, ministry of home affairs for a period of two years from the date of taking over charge as home secretary vice Anil Goswami," the release said.
It also said the appointments committee has also approved the request of Goswami for "voluntarily retiring" from service with immediate effect by waiving the notice period.
The release said the term of Goswami as home secretary stands curtailed with immediate effect.