Senior Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) officer Vishal Desai Bapusaheb (IA&AS:2010) has been suspended under serious charges of corruption and sexual harassment. Sources in the CAG office confirmed that suspension orders were indeed issued on November 19.
As per a media report, complaints against Vishal Desai Bapusaheb had been lodged as early as December 2023 when he was posted as Director (Personnel) in Delhi, but detailed complaints emerged after eight months. But what precipitated the crisis for Vishal was an email written by “a cohort of vigilant employees working at the CAG office” surfaced that contained allegations of sexual harassment, bribery, embezzlement of funds, and unauthorised travel.
An investigation revealed that despite facing the serious allegations, he got posted as Director in the CAG London’s Principal Director of Audit office recently. It was on October 23 last month that the CAG office abruptly recalled him from there. A formal inquiry was also instituted under three officers: S Alok (IA&AS:1993), the Director General of Audit, Defence Services; Roli S Malge (IA&AS:2002), the Accountant General in New Delhi; and Sreeraj Ashok (IA&AS:2012), the Senior Deputy Accountant General in Bhubaneswar. They are yet to submit their reports.
In between, Vishal was posted as Senior Deputy Accountant General in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
According to sources, a senior officer also recommended action against him saying the email merits an enquiry. Vishal on his part denied all allegations saying it all happened due to the internal politics within the organization.
