“I am not afraid of the CBI, I stand with the farmers. I am the son of a farmer.” : Satyapal Malik
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at the premises of former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik and 29 other locations on Thursday in connection with alleged corruption in the Rs 2,200-crore Kiru Hydropower project.
The federal agency’s operation began in the morning, with around 100 officers mobilized to swoop down at the 30 locations in multiple cities of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, besides Delhi and Mumbai.
Premises linked to Malik at R K Puram, Dwarka, and Asian Games Village in Delhi, as well as those in Gurugram and Baghpat, were searched.
The searches also covered the premises of alleged associates of Malik, former chairman of the Chenab Valley Power Projects Private Limited Navin Kumar Chaudhary, and officials of Patel Engineering Limited.
“I have been ill for the last 3-4 days and am admitted to the hospital. Despite this, my house is being raided by the dictator through government agencies. My driver and my assistant are also being raided and harassed unnecessarily. I am a farmer’s son, I will not be afraid of these raids. I am with the farmers,” Malik said in a post on X.
The case pertains to alleged corruption in awarding a civil-work contract related to the Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project (HEP) worth Rs 2,200 crore.
Malik, who was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir from August 23, 2018, to October 30, 2019, had claimed that he was offered a Rs 300-crore bribe for clearing two files, including the one pertaining to the project.
“The case was registered on allegations of malpractices in the award of the contract worth approximately Rs 2,200 crore of civil works of the Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project (HEP) to a private company in 2019,” the CBI had said earlier.
The agency has booked Chaudhary and other former officials of the Chenab Valley Power Projects Private Limited — M S Babu, M K Mittal, and Arun Kumar Mishra — and Patel Engineering Limited.
“Though a decision was taken in the 47th board meeting of CVPPPL (Chenab Valley Power Projects (P) Ltd) for re-tender through e-tendering with a reverse auction after the cancellation of the ongoing tendering process, the same was not implemented (according to the decision taken in the 48th board meeting) and the tender was finally awarded to Patel Engineering Limited,” the FIR has alleged.
The agency had conducted searches at the premises of five people in January in connection with the case.
