CBI claims former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik received bribes for J&K project
STC NEWS MONITORING DESK
SRINAGAR, JUNE 21 (STC): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a charge sheet has claimed that former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik received bribes from Patel Engineering, routed through two close aides, for awarding a Rs. 2,200 crore civil contract for Kiru hydroelectric project (HEP) over Chenab river in Kishtwar.
The CBI has filed the charge sheet against him and others last month, says a Hindustan Times (HT) report quoting an CBI officials familiar with the contents of the document said.
According to the HT report, the federal anti-corruption agency filed a charge sheet last month before a special court in Jammu naming Malik,79, who was J&K governor from August 23, 2018, to October 30, 2019, his two aides, then Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd (CVPPPL) managing director MS Babu, its directors Arun Kumar Mishra and M K Mittal, managing director of construction firm Patel Engineering Ltd, Rupen Patel , and Kanwaljeet Singh Duggal. The court, as per the report, is yet to take cognizance of the charge sheet.
“After thorough investigation for three years, based on robust documentary evidence and statements of witnesses, we have established in our charge sheet that the former governor (Malik) received bribes through his two private secretaries , Virendra Rana and Kanwar Singh Rana. We have provided a clear money trail pertaining to the transfer of funds,” said one of the CBI officials cited above.
The report quotes another CBI official saying that there was no need to obtain prior permission to file a charge sheet against Malik, who held a constitutional post. “Under the provisions of J&K Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) and J&K Prevention of Corruption Act, in which the former governor has been charged, there is no need for prior prosecution sanction”.
Reports further reveal that the agency has invoked section 120-B of J&K RPC and J&K PC act as the alleged corruption took place before the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019 when these archaic legal provisions in the erstwhile state were replaced by the IPC and Prevention of corruption Act. IPC has since been replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
It’s worth mentioning that on June 7, in a post on X , Malik said: “The tender they want to implicate me in was one I personally cancelled. I had informed the Prime Minister about the corruption in that matter, and after informing him, I cancelled that tender myself. After my transfer, that tender was approved with someone else’s signature.
Notably, the former governor had alleged in October 2021, two years after he demitted the office, that he was offered a Rs.300-crore bribe for clearing two files, including the one pertaining to the Kiru project.
(STC)
