Undersecretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Anand Joshi, who was supposed to be questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with a corruption case, has gone missing. He left behind a letter for his family in which he claims he was being mentally harassed and that he was leaving home in search of peace. “I am leaving home. Please, do not look for me. Now, you (his wife) have to take care of kids by becoming both father and mother,” he said in the letter, in which he added, “My patriotism became my biggest enemy”. He was supposed to have been questioned on Wednesday.

Joshi is facing charges of corruption for suspicious dealings with a few non governmental organisations. He reportedly had access to files related to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act and is accused of accepting bribes to acquire clearances under the act. Joshi denied the allegations, sayings his superiors had “pressurised” to give clean chits to a few organisations.

However, the CBI denied having harassed Joshi, and said that they conducted raids and searches as part of their investigation into the case. On Monday, the investigative agency had registered case against him under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act after raiding four locations, including Joshi’s house and office. Cash worth Rs 7.5 lakh and “incriminating documents”, including files related to the ministries of home affairs and information and broadcasting, were recovered, the CBI had said.