All asked to appear at Agency’s Jammu office in 2-3 days
Rs 20 lakh cash, documents,
electronic gadgets recovered
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 17: The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) today conducted raids on aides of ex Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik at 12 locations across New Delhi and Rajasthan including six Chartered Accountants (CAs), a female BJP leader who had contested Lok Sabha election but lost, then Press Secretary, Public Relations Officer (PRO) and Personal Assistant (PA) in connection with First Information Report (FIR) registered for corruption pertaining to Kiru hydroelectric power project in Kishtwar district of Jammu region, at Jammu wing of the investigation agency.
The CBI has already conducted raids in Jammu and Kashmir, New Delhi and Mumbai among other locations in connection with two FIRs registered at Jammu—one pertaining to Kiru Hydroelectric Project and another to Government Employees Insurance by the Reliance Company.
“Today’s raids pertained to the FIR registered in corruption charges in Kiru project,” official sources told the Excelsior.
A total of six CAs, who had reportedly manipulated the returns, are on the CBI radar and their houses and offices were searched in Delhi today. They include Sanjay Narang of Dariyagunj, Rounak Aggarwal, at Preet Vihar, Anil Kumar of Shakarpur, Anita Singh at South West Delhi, HM Company, Dariyagunj and M/s Hingo and Company, Dariyagunj.
Residence and office of BJP leader Dr Priyanka Choudhary were raided at Barmer and Jaipur in Rajasthan. She had contested Lok Sabha election but lost and is stated to be close to Satya Pal Malik.
Among others whose residences and offices were raided by the CBI teams from Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, New Delhi and Rajasthan today include Sunak Bali, who served as Press Secretary to Malik when he was Governor of Jammu and Kashmir His two houses at Defence Colony and West End in New Delhi were raided by the CBI sleuths.
Others whose offices and houses were searched by the CBI include Virender Singh Rana, then PRO and Kanwar Singh Rana, then PA to Malik, both residents of West Delhi. Both were political appointees to Raj Bhawan in Jammu and Kashmir during Malik’s tenure.
“All the persons whose houses and offices were searched by the CBI today have been asked to appear before the CBI at Jammu, where a case has been registered in connection with corruption in Kiru hydroelectric power project, within next two to three days for questioning,” sources said.
They said Rs 20 lakh cash, incriminating documents, electronic devices and some other items were seized during the raids.
As far as CAs are concerned, their role is under investigation for filing manipulated returns, sources said.
“Some of those whose houses and offices were searched today had close access to the Raj Bhawan in Jammu as well as Srinagar when Malik was the Governor,” the officials said and suspected their role.
They said the searches were carried out on the basis of digital evidence, communication between the accused, and analysis of bank accounts.
The CBI Jammu is investigating two FIRs registered in connection with corruption charges including power project and employees insurance. However, today’s raids were confined to Kiru power project case.
The search operation, as per the officials, was necessitated after the analysis of financial documents, and statements of accused and other persons in the case.
Malik’s statement was recorded in October last year after he concluded his gubernatorial responsibilities in Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, and Meghalaya.
The agency had registered the Kiru Hydropower Project FIR in April 2022 for criminal conspiracy and under Section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Five people were named in the FIR including Navin Choudhary, a senior IAS officer of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State who was later transferred from the UT and was then chairman of CVPPPL, MS Babu, then MD of CVPPPL, and MK Mittal and Arun Kumar Mishra, then Directors of CVPPPL and Patel Engineering Ltd.
The probe by the CBI revealed that e-tendering guidelines were not followed while awarding the civil works package for the project.
The CBI questioned Malik for five hours on April 28 to seek more information about his allegations that a bribe of 300 crore rupees was an offer to clear the project and medical insurance files between 2018 and 2019.
The CBI registered two FIRs in connection with the corruption allegations levelled by Malik in the awarding of contracts for a group medical insurance scheme for Government employees, and civil works worth Rs 2,200 crore related to the Kiru hydroelectric power project in Jammu and Kashmir.
Malik had claimed he was offered a Rs 300-crore bribe for clearing two files during his tenure as the Jammu and Kashmir governor between August 23, 2018 and October 30, 2019.
The central agency has booked Reliance General Insurance and Trinity Re-Insurance Brokers Limited as accused in its FIR related to a controversial health insurance scheme for Jammu and Kashmir Government employees reportedly cleared by Malik in the State Administrative Council meeting on August 31, 2018 and scrapped later.
“…Unknown officials of Finance Department of Government of Jammu and Kashmir by abusing their official position in conspiracy and connivance with Trinity Reinsurance Brokers Ltd, Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd and other unknown public servants and private persons have committed the offences of criminal conspiracy and criminal misconduct,” the FIR has alleged.
They caused “pecuniary advantage to themselves and wrongful loss to state exchequer during the period 2017 and 2018 and thereby in this manner cheated the Government of Jammu and Kashmir”, it alleged.
In its second FIR pertaining to the alleged malpractices in the award of contract for the civil works package of Kiru hydroelectric power project, the CBI said guidelines related to e-tendering were not followed.
The case was registered on allegations of malpractices in the award of the contract of civil works of Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project (HEP) to a private company in 2019.
“Though a decision was taken in the 47th Board meeting of CVPPPL (Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd) for re-tender through e-tendering with the reverse auction after the cancellation of the ongoing tendering process, the same was not implemented (as per the decision taken in the 48th board meeting) and tender was finally awarded to Patel Engineering Ltd,” the FIR alleged.
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