Ex-officer reveals RAW 'underbelly', in CBI net

New Delhi: Publish and be probed - a day after raiding Major General V K Singh's home for a book that exposed corruption inside RAW, the CBI on Saturday raided his publisher’s house. The CBI has also raided the offices of Manas publication at Daryaganj in central Delhi.

Manas publications published Singh's book India's External Intelligence: Secrets of RAW, exposing corruption in the top intelligence agency.

The CBI has seized a soft copy of the book when they raided the publishing house.

Owner of Manas publishers Vivek Garg said, “There is no ban on the book so far. This is like a Talibani order. When a person speaks the truth it is buried under the pretext of official secrets.”

On Friday, CBI had raided the residence of Singh, after registering a case against him under the Official Secrets Act.

CBI officers went through his home, interrogated him for more than an hour and seized his documents, papers and computer hard drives.

"They have taken my computer, my CPU, they have taken a number of other diaries including address books. They have also taken my passport," Singh said.

It's been more than three months since General Singh's controversial book on the Research and Analysis Wing was published.

It highlighted a professional culture verging on incompetence, of a lack of leadership and accountability and political interference.

The book faulted the agency for revealing to Pakistan key details of intelligence intercepts of bungling in the procurement of sensitive wireless equipment.

There were reports RAW was trying to get the book banned. However, retired intelligence officers said there was no way General Singh could be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act.

"From what I have seen in the reviews — I have not read the book — that there is nothing much in it which is sensitive information. And I feel that it is the Government, which is over-reacting. The CBI may finally clear him of all charges after a few years," says a retired intelligence official.

But when other spy-masters have come out with books before this, why was action taken against Singh alone?

Could it be that General Singh — with his army background — presented an inviting target to the largely IPS-dominated intelligence community? What is most likely is though that the CBI probe will not venture that far.