J-K bribery cases: CBI quizzes former J&K Guv Satya Pal Malik in bribery cases
New Delhi, April 28: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has questioned former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik for nearly five hours on Friday in connection with its probe into the alleged insurance scam in the Union Territory.
The CBI team arrived at Malik's Som Vihar residence in R K Puram area of the national capital around 11.45 am to seek clarifications over his claims. During the five-hour long exercise, numerous questions were asked of him about the claims he made in his statements recorded with the CBI last year.
This is the second time in seven months that Malik, who served as governor of various states, was quizzed by the agency, though he is not an accused or a suspect in the case so far. After the latest CBI notice to seek clarifications from him, Malik had tweeted, “I have exposed the sins of some people by speaking the truth. Maybe that’s why I have been called. I am the son of a farmer, I will not panic. I stand by the truth.”
The CBI has registered two FIRs in connection with the corruption allegations levelled by Malik. The first FIR is related to a group medical insurance scheme for government employees, which was reportedly cleared by Malik at a state administrative council meeting on August 31, 2018 and was subsequently scrapped.
Unknown officials of the finance department of the government of Jammu and Kashmir are alleged to have caused “pecuniary advantage to themselves and wrongful loss to the state exchequer during the period 2017 and 2018 and thereby, in this manner, cheated the government of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The second FIR is about alleged malpractices in awarding contracts for the civil work package of the Kiru hydroelectric power project. The CBI alleged that the guidelines related to e-tendering were not followed, and the tender was awarded to Patel Engineering Limited.
Senior IAS officer Navin Kumar Chaudhary, former chairman of Chenab Valley Power Projects (Private) Limited, MS Babu, former managing director, MK Mittal and Arun Kumar Mishra, former directors, and Patel Engineering Limited have been booked in this case.
- With inputs from agencies
