In a case involving alleged corruption related to the Hydel Project, the CBI searches the residence of the former Governor Malik

In relation to the corruption case involving the Kiru hydropower project, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted a search on the Delhi residence of former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik on Thursday. According to sources, the agency searched more than 30 locations across eight states as part of an ongoing investigation into claims of irregularities in the Kiru hydroelectric power project’s civil works award, which is being carried out by Chenab Valley Power Projects (P) Ltd. (CPL) in J&K.

According to the agency, these searches were conducted in a number of places, including Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Baghpat, Noida, Patna, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Barmer, Nagaur, and Chandigarh. On February 20, 2022, the complaint was filed against representatives of a private firm, the CVP, and a few unnamed individuals. It was reported that e-tendering procedures were not followed in the awarding of civil works related to the Kiru hydropower project.

Additionally, it was alleged that despite a decision made at the 47th board meeting of the CVPPPL to re-tender using an electronic tendering process with a reverse auction following the cancellation of the ongoing tendering process, the decision was not carried out and was reversed at the 48th board meeting.

Massive cash deposits, investments in fixed deposits, and houses across many cities, as well as digital and documentary proof, have all been found during searches. The situation is still being investigated. In 2022, the J&K government requested a CBI investigation into suspected wrongdoing in the awarding of two government contracts, which Satya Pal Malik had previously brought to light. Malik had claimed last year that he had received a bribe of Rs 300 crore for these contracts while serving as J&K governor.

The senior leader, meanwhile, claimed in a series of tweets sent early in the morning that while he was hospitalized and ill, central agents were raiding his home at the command of a “dictator.” Malik said, “Even his driver and assistant were raided.”

Reiterating his support for the continuing farmers’ movement, he emphasized that he is a farmer’s son and would not be deterred by the raids. Malik went on to say that the CBI was seizing his property rather than looking into the people he had accused in the case. Other than a couple of kurta pajamas, they won’t discover anything. “As a farmer’s son, I will not be intimidated by the dictator’s attempts to incite me through the misuse of central agencies,” he said.

Malik “Unfazed”

Former governor Satya Pal Malik writes on X that, despite being hospitalized, central authorities are searching his home at the behest of a “dictator.”
Even his chauffeur and assistant have been raided, he continues, while maintaining that he is unmoved.
Other than a couple of sets of pajamas, they won’t discover anything, says Malik.
30 sites in eight states were examined.

In conjunction with the investigation into a case involving “irregularities” in the awarding of civil works of the Kiru hydroelectric power project in J&K, the central agency investigated more than thirty sites across eight states.
Seized evidence includes financial deposits and real estate investments, among other things.