The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday chargesheeted a former senior official of the Research and Analysis Wing for giving out certain details in a book -- which alleges corruption in the country's external intelligence agency -- in violation of the Official Secrets Act.

The chargesheet was filed against Major General (retired) V K Singh, who wrote the book, and Manas Publication under Section three and Section five of the Officials Secrets Act, after the CBI findings were vetted by the Union Home Ministry.

Singh and the publication house have been accused of wrongful communication of information and allegedly indulging in activities prejudicial to the safety or interests of the nation. The CBI had filed the case in September last year, three months after his book on alleged corruption in the RAW had hit the stands.

Singh was on deputation from the army to RAW from 2000 till his retirement in 2004. He had written the book India's External Intelligence: Secrets of RAW.

The CBI is backing its chargesheet with statements from RAW officials, who claim that the information used by Singh in his book were of classified. But the agency has no other documents to suggest it, the sources said.

The former RAW official has claimed that he had used all the information that was available on the Internet.

The soldier-turned-author spoke about alleged political interference and corruption in the intelligence agency, including one relating to purchase of sub-standard telecom equipment meant for VVIP security.

Singh's book claimed serious lapses by the government facilitated the escape of senior RAW official Ravinder Singh, who is believed to have fled to the United States after he was found spying for a foreign organisation.

It also questioned the wisdom of the previous National Democratic Alliance government in releasing to then Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif, a taped conversation between Pervez Musharraf [Images] and senior army officer General Mohammed Aziz, during the Kargil conflict.

The CBI had registered the case against V K Singh, a former joint secretary in RAW, on the advice of the Cabinet Secretariat for allegedly disclosing classified information in his book.

The Cabinet Secretariat, the public face of RAW, had been seeking legal advice on banning Singh's book. However, after failing to find any legal provisions under which action could be taken against Singh, it decided to file a complaint against him, sources said.