Munna Bhai MBBS: Home ministry insider Ravinder Singh arrested for leaking Blackberry related documents

HE WAS an MBBS before joining the prestigious IAS in 1994. Unlike many other IAS who don the title “Dr” thanks to their on-the-job scholarly pursuits in universities, Dr Ravinder Singh, a West Bengal cadre IAS and a director in home ministry, is a real doctor who chose to become a civil servant.

Call him Ravinder Bhai MBBS who turned a Khalnayak of power corridors on Monday when he was arrested by investigating agency CBI after both his office and residence were raided. He was under surveillance for the last one month on the suspicion that he has been leaking sensitive documents related to the controversial Blackberry issue to a section of corporate. He has been a director in home ministry from January, 2010, and as a key official of the internal security division of the MHA, he has been handling many a sensitive documents and subjects including the Blackberry dispute in which home ministry has been asking the Canadian company RIM, the maker of Blackberry phone, to give the government access to their secret codes for security reasons.

This is the second major embarrassment for the home ministry during this year. In April, CBI searched the houses of two MHA officers including one of O Ravi, a 1983 batch IAS and joint secretary in MHA. Mr Ravi allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 25 lakh from a private distiller. Another ministry official, RS Sharma, a director, was booked for accepting bribes to favour a bulletproof jacket firm.

Supreme Court raises questions about Thomas’ appointment as CVC

The Supreme Court on Monday raised questions about the controversial appointment of P J Thomas, a 1973 batch Kerala cadre IAS as Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) who is an accused in a criminal case. Thomas, who had served as chief secretary of Kerala and Union telecom secretary, was appointed as CVC on September 7, 2010 despite massive protests by the BJP. A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia also observed that Thomas as the CVC will himself feel embarrassed due to the pending criminal case against him as in every case the CBI will be dealing with him. Thomas’ name figures in a chargesheet in the palmolein import case.