Former Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik has been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with two corruption cases. The agency had registered the cases in April relating to alleged irregularities in two projects in Jammu and Kashmir when Malik was governor there.
“He was examined in the case two days ago. As these were his allegations, he was asked for more details. He was questioned as a witness in the cases,” a CBI official said.
In October 2021, Malik claimed he was offered Rs 300 crore in bribes to clear two files including one linked to an RSS leader (Rashtriya Swayam Sevak). Based on this allegation, the CBI registered two such cases and carried out searches in 14 locations in April. The agency implicated Anil Ambani’s Reliance General Insurance Company (RGIC) and officials from Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd (CVPPPL), among others, in the two cases.
The locations searched included the premises of IAS officer Naveen Choudhary, then chairman of Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd (CVPPPL), as well as those of MD MS Babu, directors MK Mittal and Arun Mishra. The company accused in the case is Patel Engineering Ltd. An FIR in the case has been registered in Jammu.
A separate FIR registered in Srinagar named Anil Ambani’s Reliance General Insurance Company and Trinity Reinsurance Brokers Ltd as defendants.
“CBI had registered two separate cases at the request of the government of Jammu and Kashmir on the allegations of malpractice (I) in the award of the J&K employees health insurance scheme contract to a private company and the release of Rs. 60 crore (approx) in the year 2017-18 and (II) award of the contract worth Rs. 2200 crore (approx) for civil works of the Kiru Hydropower Project (HEP) to a private enterprise in 2019,” the CBI said in a statement.
In March, J&K Lt. Gen. Manoj Sinha announced that Malik’s allegations were serious and that the administration had decided to hand over the investigation to the CBI.
“As someone in high office said something, we have given our consent to the CBI for investigations into the two cases,” he told reporters in Jammu. “And the truth will come out after the investigations,” he added.
Satya Pal Malik had brought corruption charges against a senior RSS official last year. Malik alleged that when he was governor of Jammu and Kashmir, he received two files, one relating to “Ambani” and the other relating to an “RSS official”. “One of the secretaries told me it is shady business but he can get Rs 150 crore each. I told him that I came to Jammu and Kashmir with five kurta-pajamas and would leave with only that,” the former governor said. “I alerted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who told me there should be no compromise on corruption,” Malik added at an event in Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.
Although Malik said nothing about the records, he was referring to the government’s agreement with Reliance General Insurance. Malik had canceled an agreement with Reliance General Insurance Company to provide health insurance to government employees in October 2018. The other case involved civil works related to the Kiru Hydel Power project.
Both cases were formally referred to the CBI on March 23, with the administration writing to the CBI: “There had been allegations of malpractice in the awarding of the J&K Government Employees Health Insurance Plan contract to Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd and the award of the contract for the civil works of the Kiru hydroelectric project to a private company. Reports on these issues have been requested from the Department of Finance and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. After reviewing these reports, the J&K Government Competent Authority has decided to refer these cases to the CBI for investigation,” reads the letter from the UT (Union Territory) Administration to the CBI. .
In the case of Reliance, the CBI FIR said the allegations referred to by the UT administration “prima facie reveal that unknown officials in the Department of Finance of the J&K government by abusing their official position in conspiracy and collusion with Trinity Reinsurance Brokers Ltd, Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd and other unknown public officials and private persons committed the offenses of criminal association and criminal misconduct to procure a pecuniary advantage and caused an unjustified loss to the public purse during the period 2017 and 2018 and thus deceived the government of J&K.
A UT administration investigation found that the government hired Trinity as a broker to finalize group health insurance for J&K government employees. However, the bidding process initiated by Trinity saw only one bidder, Reliance.
Notably, an investigative report submitted by J&K’s anti-corruption office to the UT administration on Feb. 8 on the matter said no case could be established.
“…the audit of the subject thus conducted in this office with respect to the Government Employees Health Insurance Scheme is terminated as no irregularities have been found in the matter,” the report said.
In the case of the Kiru Hydel project, the CBI FIR said an investigation had been conducted by the J&K ACB and the Department of Energy into the matter.
“Reading these reports reveals that in awarding the civil works package for the Kiru Hydroelectric Power Project, the guidelines for electronic tendering were not followed and although a decision was taken at the 47th meeting of the CVPPPL Board of Directors for a new call for tenders via an electronic call for tenders with auction reversal, after the cancellation of the current call for tenders process, that was not implemented and the tender was eventually awarded to M/s Patel Engineering,” the CBI FIR said.
The project, which is estimated to cost Rs 4,287 crore, has been marred by allegations of substandard work and its failure to provide jobs for local unemployed youths. The ACB investigation into the matter observed that the tender for the project was canceled at the 47th CVPPPL board meeting, but re-launched at the 48th board meeting and attributed to Patel Engineering.
