NEW DELHI: A director rank woman officer of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) attempted to commit suicide outside the Prime Ministers Office here on Tuesday afternoon. The officer, Nisha Bhatia, had made several sexual harassment complaints against a senior official of the RAW. She is currently posted in the training wing of the agency.

A late night statement by the cabinet secretariat said Bhatia was on Tuesday informed about the initiation of an inquiry against her for alleged insubordination and misconduct.
She then went to the PMO and attempted to commit suicide, according to the cabinet secretariat.

"She had come to the PMO to meet a senior official but after entering the PMO office she ate something she claimed was poisonous and then collapsed," said a senior police officer.

Bhatia was rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and her condition is stated to be stable. Doctors have also not confirmed finding any poisonous substance so far.

"The woman claims that she had an appointment with a senior government official about her complaint but it is not clear whether she met him or not," said the officer.

The police had not registered any case of attempted suicide against the woman till late in evening.

A senior government official admitted that Nisha Bhatia had been with RAW for over 15 years and had filed a complaint against a joint secretary level official of the agency.
"She has been given two foreign postings during her tenure and she was serving in the training academy of the agency," officials said.

Sources claimed that she had even alleged that the secretary (RAW) too had treated her shabbily and made adverse remarks about her performance in the Annual Confidential Reports.

On the basis of her complaints, the agency had ordered a probe. The inquiry panel looking into Bhatias complaint comprised the senior-most woman officer of the joint secretary level in RAW, a woman officer of the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and other officials from the agency.

According to the cabinet secretariat, Bhatia withdrew her complaint and refused to cooperate though she was given several opportunities to present her case.

The committee, however, completed the inquiry on May 19,2008,and found that her allegations could not be substantiated, the cabinet secretariat statement said. Moreover, the statement said it was found that Bhatias behaviour on a number of occasions, duly documented by the committee, appeared to indicate a "disturbed state of mind".

A number of complaints had been received from different officers against Bhatia alleging unauthorised contact with the media, insubordination, misbehaviour, abuse of authority and sending objectionable and offensive SMSes to senior government officials, the statement said.

Based on examination of reports of her "erratic" behaviour, a senior medical officer of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) opined "presence of a psychiatric illness in her and advised psychiatric opinion to assess her condition", the cabinet secretarial statement said, adding that Bhatia refused medical counselling.

Taking note of the complaints "a preliminary enquiry was ordered on August 8" against her, the statement added.

RAW has faced a string of controversies involving its senior officials. In 2007,Ravi Nair, a joint secretary rank official, was recalled from Sri Lanka. "He had come too close with a Chinese woman spy and he had to be recalled when reports of that woman staying in his house in Colombo reached Delhi headquarters," said an official.

The RAW had come under severe criticism when its joint secretary Rabinder Singh defected to the US and escaped from India despite being under the constant surveillance of the agency.

Source : DNA