Arrested home ministry official to be produced in court

NEW DELHI - A senior home ministry official, arrested for allegedly leaking sensitive information of commercial interest to some private firms, will be produced in a city court Tuesday, sources said.

The house and office of West Bengal cadre civil service officer Ravi Inder Singh, who is director, internal security, in the home ministry, were searched Monday by Delhi Police, which will now seek permission from the court to interrogate him, the sources said.

Singh was arrested late Monday after he was detained for questioning. The move follows suspicion that information of commercial interest was leaked by him.

He has mishandled information that could be of commercial value. But it has nothing to do with national security, the source told IANS.

Secretary, internal security, U.K. Bansal, expressed concern over over the involvement of such a high ranking officer.

It is a matter of concern. We cannot tolerate corruption and the message is clear. Delhi Police will submit their report by (Tuesday) evening to the ministry of home affairs, Bansal told IANS.

Singh, a 1994 batch officer, was in February this year posted as director, internal security, this February. He was looking after a division that among other things handles the row over BlackBerry.

The government wants access to BlackBerry phone codes that would enable the security agencies to intercept corporate e-mails and chat services. This is being done to keep track of terrorists using BlackBerry messenger and e-mail services.

However, it was not known if the accused had leaked the information to the BlackBerry makers in particular.

The sources said searches on Singh were conducted following a tip off at the highest level in the home ministry.