Rs 300 cr kickbacks offer
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 24: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has recommended probe by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) into oft-repeated allegations by former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik that he was offered Rs 300 crore worth corruption for clearing files of big industrial houses but he cancelled the deals.
During his tenure as the Governor here, Malik had claimed that he detected Rs 300 crore worth deals in insurance scam and power project. After leaving Jammu and Kashmir, he kept repeating the allegations at different functions resulting into embarrassment for both Central and J&K Governments.
Malik is presently the Governor of Meghalaya.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Jammu and Kashmir Government has recommended a CBI probe into the allegations levelled by Malik.
On recommendations of the UT Government, the Department of Personnel and Training has ordered the CBI probe into the charges.
Joint teams of the CBI from New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir are likely to take up investigations of the case after lodging a First Information Report (FIR).
Sources said the DoPT has issued formal notification handing over investigations into the case to the CBI on recommendations of the Union Territory Government.
Satya Pal Malik, who was Governor of Jammu and Kashmir during Governor’s rule, had alleged that during his tenure, he was offered Rs 300 crore in return for clearing the files of the big industrial houses. However, he refused to accept the money and cancelled the deals.
On October 17, in a program in Rajasthan, Malik had said, ‘Two files had come for my consideration… One of the Secretaries told me that if I approve these, I can get Rs 150 crore each. I turned down the offer saying that I had brought five kurta-pyjamas (to Kashmir), and will just go with them.”
Malik had, in fact, disclosed the offer of corruption during different interviews and meetings in Jammu and Kashmir as well as New Delhi when he was the Governor.
However, on his appointment as the Governor of Goa and later Meghalaya, Malik kept on repeating the charges of corruption offer during different functions.
In one of the functions, he had stated that an RSS leader was also involved in the corruption.
Sources said in view of repeated charges by Satya Pal Malik at various forums, the Jammu and Kashmir Government decided to get the matter investigated from the premier investigating agency and accordingly wrote to the DoPT.
The CBI could take over investigations in the case anytime, sources said.
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