NEW DELHI: The CBI has registered an FIR against the NGO Environics Trust (ET) and its top officials for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) norms.
The NGO allegedly transferred the relief package meant for people affected by Amphan cyclone in Odisha to those who protested against the JSW project site at Dhinkia in the state, officials said on Thursday.
Besides the Environics Trust, the CBI has also named the NGO’s managing director R Sreedhar and its director (finance) in the FIR, they said.
According to the FIR, a copy of which is with this newspaper, the CBI has alleged that Environics Trust had transferred Rs 1,250 each to the bank accounts of 711 people on November 15, 2020, for distribution among Amphan cyclone-affected people in Odisha. “But it was found that these funds were actually paid to the protestors for JSW agitation at Dhinkia, Odisha,” the FIR read.
“Therefore, by funding the agitators, ET is involved in the various activities creating law and order issues in the country. These activities were not as per the object of trust and the same is contrary to the provisions of the FCRA Act, 2010,” it noted.
The agency also cited alleged association of the trust with Adivasi Activist Deme Oram, who was arrested by Rourkela Police for rioting and unlawful assembly.
“On analysis of bank statements of FCRA account number: 017101006864 of the ET maintained with ICICI Bank, it is revealed that the ET has financial transactions with Dene Oram. As per the bank account statement, on April 17, 2028, Rs 30,000 was transferred from the FCRA account to Deme Oram,” the FIR alleged, adding that ET’s activities were “not genuine and not in accordance with the object of the trust.”