PMO accepts award money donated by whistle-blower officer

Weeks after refusing to accept $30,000 donated by Magsaysay Award winner Sanjiv Chaturvedi, the Prime Minister's Office has finally accepted the donation and thanked him for the contribution.

"We acknowledge with thanks the generous contribution forwarded towards the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF)," the PMO said in a letter to the 2002-batch Indian Forest Service officer of the Haryana cadre.

"Prime Minister appreciated this thoughtful gesture and conveys his gratitude. This valuable contribution will be of immense help in providing assistance to the persons in distress," it added.

Earlier, the PMO refused to accept the donation and said that the PMNRF cannot accept funds with conditions. However, Chaturvedi in his reply to the PMO clarified he never imposed any conditions while donating the money.

Chaturvedi - who won the 2015 Magsaysay Award for his "exemplary courage" in exposing corruption - decided to donate his award money to the PMNRF after All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, under the union health ministry, allegedly stonewalled his donation that he meant to be used for the treatment of cancer patients.

He is currently a deputy secretary at AIIMS, having been removed from the post of Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the institute in August 2014, much before the completion of his tenure in 2016.