L C Goyal on Thursday took over as India’s new Home Secretary from Anil Goswami, who was sacked for reportedly asking the CBI to stall the arrest of former union minister Matang Sinh in Saradha scam case.
Goyal, a Kerala cadre IAS officer of the 1979 batch, was posted as Secretary, Rural Development, and has earlier served in the Home Ministry where he handled the internal security division.
Newly appointed Home Secretary Shri LC Goyal with the Home Minister @BJPRajnathSingh after taking charge today pic.twitter.com/lUIG5alqve
— HMO India (@HMOIndia) February 5, 2015
According to the order issued late tonight, Goswami “opted for voluntary retirement following which his notice period was waived off.”
Sources told The Indian Express that a CD of the recorded conversation was later produced by CBI director Anil Sinha before Home Minister Rajnath Singh and senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Sources said that when CBI officials went to arrest Matang Sinh, he resisted arrest and flaunted his “high-level contacts.”
Subsequently, the CBI let him use the agency’s phone and when he called up Goswami on it, that conversation was recorded. Sources indicated that this conversation indicated alleged abuse of power to interfere in a CBI investigation. Goswami’s removal is the second such case in a week when the government sacked an officer with a fixed tenure. Former Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh’s tenure was curtailed last week — six months early.
Goswami’s removal came after he was summoned by the Home Minister today to explain the conversation with Matang Sinh.
