‘Attempt to silence critics’ Activists and lawyers condemn ED raids on Harsh Mander’s office at home – ThePrint

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Social activist Harsh Mander | Photo: Twitter / @ Harsh_Mander

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New Delhi: Several activists, academics and lawyers have condemned the searches by the Directorate of Execution (ED) of the office and residence of retired IAS officer and social activist Harsh Mander as part of a money laundering investigation.

More than 600 activists and intellectuals released a joint statement on Thursday claiming that Mander was subject to continued harassment by several state agencies and that the raids were part of an ongoing chain of abuses of institutions state to threaten, intimidate and try to silence all critics of the present. government.

Among the 600 people who signed the declaration are historian Romila Thapar, retired IPS officer Julio Ribeiro, economist Jean Dreze, lawyer Indira Jaisingh, activist Aruna Roy and former chief Naval Staff Admiral Ram Das.

On September 16, the ED raided Mander’s residence and the offices of his NGO, the Center for Equity Studies (CES), located in Adchini, Mehrauli and Vasant Kunj in South Delhi, just hours after his departure for the ‘Germany with his wife for a six-month fellowship program at the Robert Bosch Academy.

The EDs case is based on an FIR registered by Delhi Police in February this year under various provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Indian Penal Code on a complaint by the Registrar of the National Commission for Protection Children’s Rights Office (NCPCR) alleging violations by two children’s homes Ummeed Aman Ghar and Khushi Rainbow Home in South Delhi and their parent organization CES, of which Mander is a director.

Mander, however, was not named as an accused in the FIR.

The searches, according to agency sources, were linked to a case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to investigate alleged money flows and irregularities at the two houses.

“The FIR has been registered by the Delhi Police, and we are only probing the financial side of it. The investigation is being conducted on the basis of a report submitted by the NCPCR which speaks of financial irregularities and that is what is being examined, a senior agency official said.

“Continuous chain of abuse of state institutions”

The joint statement called the NCPCR’s allegations against Mander false and malicious. The allegations, according to the statement, were definitively refuted by the Delhi Commission for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (DCPCR), a statutory body, which filed a strong affidavit in the Delhi High Court, putting an end to the bogus allegations against CES.

The statement also said that CES was also the victim of harassment from the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) and the IT department.

All of these vindictive efforts combined have shown no embezzlement or violation of the law. The current raids by the ED and IT department should be seen in this context, as part of an ongoing chain of abuses of state institutions to threaten, intimidate and try to silence all critics of the current government, a- he declared.

We stand in solidarity with Harsh Mander and everyone associated with the Center for Equity Studies. India’s Constitution and the law of the land will prevail, exposing these intimidating tactics for exactly what they constitute an abuse of state institutions in an attempt to curtail all of our rights, the statement added.

Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Jairam Ramesh also spoke in favor of Mander.

He is a person of unquestionable integrity and honesty, incapable of doing wrong, almost too righteous for the standards of today’s India. This raid is a travesty, Tharoor tweeted.

I am shocked and dismayed to read the ED raids on my friend and classmate @harsh_mander: https://t.co/uh6lFdGGDpHe is a person of unquestionable integrity and honesty, incapable of doing wrong, almost too straight for today’s India standards. This raid is a travesty.

– Shashi Tharoor (hasShashiTharoor) September 16, 2021

In the aftermath of the International Day of Democracy, Modi Sarkar continues his obsession with the IDF Fear, Deception, Intimidation, by harassing a renowned activist and intellectual, Harsh Mander. And he lectures others on inclusion and democracy! Jairam Ramesh tweeted.

In the aftermath of International Democracy Day, Modi Sarkar continues his obsession with the FDIPeur, Deception, Intimidation, by harassing a renowned activist and intellectual, Harsh Mander. And he lectures others on inclusion and democracy! Https: //t.co/HRpwNeYcP9

– Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 16, 2021

The case

In October 2020, the NCPCR carried out an inspection of the children’s homes that Mander was associated with, as a result of which they filed a complaint with the Delhi Police and said the homes were using children for illegal activities and of cruelty. Based on the NCPCR Registrar’s complaint, Delhi Police then registered an FIR in the case in February.

According to police, the NCPCR also submitted a 24-page report based on their inspection, in which they claimed four-five girls were forced to sit during protests against the law to amend the citizenship law in 2019- 2020. He also said that a boy staying at Ummeed Aman Ghar learned that the government only works for Hindus and continues to fight in Pakistan.

The panel also accused the homes of stuffing children into tiny shacks and failing to maintain social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Shortly after the FIR registered, Mander released a statement in which he said the NCPCR raided two children’s homes in Delhi to find out if any of the residents had participated in the protests against the CAA. .

I am no longer formally associated with these houses … I visit them [the children] when I can, to ensure their well-being, tell them about the world and the good life, and sing songs together. The NCPCR team in their raids on the two houses had four central objectives. Most important was whether the children had participated in the anti-AAC protests. The second objective concerned my association with the hostels, he said in the statement.

He also said the raid’s other objectives were to find out if there was foreign funding and if Rohingya children were living in the houses.

(Edited by Neha Mahajan)

Also read: Harsh Mander, a bleeding heart liberal who fights Modi’s government with Gandhis radical love

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