Former RAW official writes to the PM

India’s external intelligence agency is in news once again for wrong reasons.

A senior lady officer of the agency attempted suicide outside the PMO and alleged that she was being sexually harassed by some of her male colleagues in the agency.

Below is the copy of the letter written by a former RAW official to the Prime Minister.

The official has requested the PM to order a CBI inquiry into the suicide attempt by Nisha Priya Bhatia and to setup grievances redressal cell in the PMO for R&AW employees.

 

R.K.YADAV (M-9811113684)
Former General Secretary,
Cabinet Sectt.(RAW) Employees Association,
84, Jwalaheri, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi-110063.

24th August, 2008.

Shri Manmohan Singh,
Prime Minister of India,
South Block, New Delhi-110001.

Re.  Request to order CBI inquiry in sucide attempt case of Ms. Nisha Bhatia, Director of RAW – Need for a grievances redressal cell in PMO for RAW employees.

Sir,

One senior officer of RAW Ms. Nisha Bhatia, working as Director in the Training Branch of RAW at Gurgaon attempted suicide outside your office in South Block by consuming poison. She took this drastic step out of frustration and disgust because no criminal action was taken on his complaint of sexual harassment and media reports reveal that even the Secretary of RAW, Ashok Chaturvedi, used lewd words to get sexual favour from her. This is highly deplorable and needs impartial investigation from an agency outside RAW. Instead of looking into her grievances, she is being depicted as psychiatric patient by RAW authorities to save their skin. Had she been so or under depression, she would have committed suicide in her house rather then took this extreme step inside your office premises under sheer anguish and disgust. Ashok Chaturvedi and his coterie of officers tried to take sexual advantage from her due to his failed family life which could be the cause of this whole episode which is shameful on the part of these officers. I am told that in addition to what he gave in writing in her complaint another Joint Secretary, M.K.Piyasi who is close to Ashok Chaturvedi also tried to take advantage of her plight. This officer is known for his links with a Dowood Ibrahim agent Rakesh Wadhwa in Kathmandu. Details of his mobile records would reveal that he is in regular touch with Wadhwa and his wife.

This is not the first sexual harassment in RAW. There are many incidents in the past but most of the lady employees do not report due to fear of being sacked from service in the guise of secrecy. In the late Eighties, I was told by a senior lady officer of RAW that she is being raped by thousands of eyes when she enters RAW headquarter. Subsequently, this lady officer was hounded by two of chums of Ashok Chaturvedi, S.K.Tripathi and Gurinder Singh who are now working as Special Secretaries in RAW.

This mindset of RAW officers is reflective of a sex oriented psyche in which they are working operationally. Most of the agents whom they developed are entertained with all these ethnic facilities like providing prostitutes for sex. This sadistic working culture has provoked many of them to exploit their own lady colleagues or they were exploited by foreign agents. There are numerous such incidents in RAW some of which are elaborated hereinunder.

1. In early Eighties,A.P.Mishra, an IPS officer, working as Director in RAW was posted in Indian mission at Kathmandu. He exploited a lady of junior rank posted in the embassy. Subsequently, when he was reverted to India as Additional Commissioner in RAW office at Lucknow, he was caught with this lady in RAW safe house by some activists of RAW Employees Association, he was reverted to his parent UP cadre but no disciplinary action was taken against him.

2. In Early Nineties, P.K.Venugopalan, Director of RAW, was divorced by the niece of M.G. Ramachandran, fromer Chief Minister of Tamilnadu for infidelity. Knowing this fact, he was sent on foreign assignment to Indian Embassy in Tehran. He was caught by the Iranian intelligence officials while womanising in a hotel and repatriated to India on this charge. Back in India, he resigned from RAW and married a Shia lady of Iran who illegally entered India.

3. In 1987, K.V.Unnikrishnan, IPS officer, Joint Secretary was working in RAW office in erstwhile Madras in 1987 where one lady CIA agent exploited him and obtained all secret information from him. When detected by the Intelligence Bureau, he was arrested on espionage charges and sent to jail.

4. R.V.Guge, Director of RAW, was dismissed from service when he was found exploiting a lady servant in his North East office. Prior to that there were allegations against him that he tried to develop illicit relations with a lady collegue at RAW Hqrs.

5. In 1998, Suchit Dass, IPS officer of Orissa Cadre, was caught on videotape for his rendezvous with a lady of Bangladesh Mission on several occasions by the surveillance team of RAW. This lady was used by Bangladesh Intelligence officials to recruit Suchit Dass as their agent while he was serving in Indian Mission at Dhaka. When Suchit Dass reverted to India on completion of his tenure, this lady was also sent by Bangladesh Intelligence to continue her liaison with Dass. She exploited Dass and got many secret information from him. No criminal action was taken against Suchit Dass and he was simply reverted to his parent cadre after the exposure.

6. In 2006, Kishore Jha, IPS, Joint Secretary in RAW n the mid Ninties tried to sexually exploit wife of his IAS batchmate. On the intervention of then Prime Minister, he was reverted to his parent cadre in Manipur. However, he politically managed his reentry in RAW and while serving in Jodhpur office where under influence of liquor, he tried to molest a lady employee of RAW. Subsequently, he was transferred to RAW Hqrs.where he used double meaning words to a lady officer to exploit her for sexual favour. This matter was reported to the then Secretary of RAW, P.K.H, Tharakan but instead of taking any  action against him, he was posted to Germany in Boon as RAW operative.

7. In June, 2006, Brig. Ujjawal Dasgupta, Director in Computer Division of RAW was arrested for his alleged link with a lady CIA operative Rosanna Minchew working in US Embassy in Delhi. He was arrested on charges of espionage and presently lodged in Tihar Jail.

8. In October, 2007, Ravi Nair, a Joint Secretary of RAW was abruptly recalled from Indian Embassy in Columbo for his involvement with a suspected lady Chinese agent. My sources in RAW revealed that this lady got involved with Nair during his Bhutan stint. She is a North East lady working for Chinese Intelligence. This liaison continued in Hong Kong and detected in Colombo. Nair has a dubious past in RAW. He was accused by a source of pocketing $40000  his remuneration. More so, he worked for more than 4 years in Pakistan which no other officer of RAW could ever complete due to ISI interference. There are allegations of his being hobnobbing with ISI. In the instant case of his involvement with a lady spy, no harsh action was taken against him by Ashok Chaturvedi and curiously he was given a sensitive desk of North East.

9. Recently this year, M.M.Sharma, a Director of Science & Technology Division of RAW was videotaped  by Chinese intelligence officials while having sex with a prostitute in Beijing where he was posted in Indian Mission. He was declared PNG and sent to India. No disciplinary or criminal action was taken against him so far.

10. I am told by one of the officers of investigating team of Rabinder Singh Spying case that Gurinder Singh, who is number two in position as Special Secretary of RAW is found having sex with a lady on a videotape in the  spy camera which was secretly installed at the residence of Rabinder Singh by RAW authorities to detect his activities. If this fact is correct, he should be punished for this criminal offence.

These are some of the instances of senior officers of RAW who were either exploited by lady foreign agents or they tried to exploit the ladies who were working with them. There are other such numerous cases in RAW which would need pages and hours to disclose before the public.

In this working scenario of RAW, a courageous lady like Nisha Bhatia took the extreme step of committing suicide in your office to expose her exploitation by some senior officers of RAW. I assume that Ashok Chaturvedi, Secretary RAW,  who is also accused by her for being a party in this exploitation, would resort to witch hunt by taking disciplinary action against Nisha Bhatia instead of her accusations. I am told by insiders that that he is contemplating to invoke provisions of  Intelligence Organisations (Restriction of Rights), 1985 which forbids RAW employees to have contact with press. There is a provision of criminal action under this act for such violation for which a maximum punishment of 2 years of jail could be awarded for this offense.

About three months back, she personally met the National Security Advisor, Shri M.K.Narayanan and the Cabinet Secretary, K.M.Chandrasekhar and gave this complaint to them but no action was taken against the delinquent officer. She was so dejected due to the traumatic behaviour of the RAW authorities that she became a patient of extreme depression and took this extreme step of suicide outside your office to bring this pathetic case of sexual and mental harassment before ever citizen of India   This matter was reported by Indian Express on 14th June this year but no corrective measure was taken at any level to avoid this tragedy.

This was simplest of the simple criminal offence for which Supreme Court of India had laid down clear guidelines to prosecute the person who sexually tries to harass a woman employee in the office. Since, RAW is a government within the Government of India, no such guidelines are followed or implemented here. Had the National Security Advisor or the Cabinet Secretary taken this matter out of the purview of RAW authorities she could not have taken this extreme step of committing suicide outside your office.

There is rampant harassment, exploitation and nepotism inside RAW in day to day working of RAW employees in general and women employees in particular. Transfer to hard stations in North East and Jammu and Kashmir is not done on caliber basis but those who are to be mentally harassed are sent to settle personal scores by the seniors. This is adversely affecting the operational capabilities in this insurgency and militancy affected region of this country due to this disgruntled employees.

There is no administrative grievances redressal mechanism for the employees of RAW due to which employees are in traumatic and pathetic state of mind.  Sometime back three employees of RAW filed a case in the Central Administrative Tribunal due to anomaly in their promotion. The then Special Secretary of RAW, S.K.Tripathi not only initiated a departmental action against them as to why filed that case in CAT but also ordered their transfer out of Delhi. Those employees had no option but to aplogize to the authorities and saved their skin by withdrawing that case from the CAT. Since then no employee of RAW have dared to approach CAT for any administrative grievances. Such is the fear psychosis unleashed by these officers inside RAW among the employees.

In view of these adverse working conditions inside RAW, Ms. Nisha Bhatia took this extreme step of committing suicide outside your office which is highly sensitive and require a thorough probe. You are requested to hand over this case to CBI or National Commission for Women, so that an impartial inquiry is conducted because RAW authorities would scuttle every move for such inquiry to save their officers.

With regards,

Yours sincerely,

(R.K.Yadav)

Copy to:

1. Smt. Renuka Chaudhry, Minister of State for Women and Child Welfare for necessary action.
2. Ms. Girija Vyas, Chairman, National Commission for Women, for necessary action.
3. Shri K.M.Chandershikhar, Cabinet Secretary, for necessary action.