CBI raid Satya Pal Malik’s premises in Baghpat

The CBI raided Malik’s premises in connection with an alleged bribery case in the Kiru Hydroelectric Project in Jammu and Kashmir, valued at ₹2,200 crore.

MEERUT: CBI sleuths from Ghaziabad, on Thursday, conducted raids at the ancestral haveli of former J&K governor Satya Pal Malik in Hisavda village of Baghpat. These raids were part of the agency’s investigation into alleged corruption in the awarding of a contract for a hydel project in the union territory. The team, accompanied by a team of Baghpat police, remained at the location for three hours, confirmed ASP Baghpat, NP Singh.

CBI sleuths at Satya Pal Malik’s haveli in Baghpat (HT Photo)

“We provided a team of local police for their assistance during their work but do not have any details regarding the investigations,” Singh said.

The CBI raided Malik’s premises in connection with an alleged bribery case in the Kiru Hydroelectric Project in Jammu and Kashmir, valued at ₹2,200 crore. Satya Pal Malik, who served as the governor of the union territory between August 23, 2018, and October 30, 2019, had claimed he was offered a ₹300-crore bribe for clearing files.

Satya Pal Malik’s political journey started in 1974 when he became an MLA from the Baghpat assembly seat on a Lok Dal ticket. In 1980, the Lok Dal sent Malik to the Rajya Sabha for the first time.

In 1984, Malik joined the Congress and was elected to the upper house once again. However, following the Bofors scam in 1987, he left the Congress and joined the VP Singh-led Janata Dal in 1988. In 1989, he won the Lok Sabha elections from the Aligarh constituency. He contested the Lok Sabha elections again in 1996 from the Aligarh seat on a Samajwadi Party ticket but lost the elections. In 2004, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and contested the Baghpat seat, only to face defeat.

The BJP appointed him as national vice president of the party in 2012, and after the Narendra Modi-led NDA government came to power in 2014, Malik was appointed as the Governor of Bihar in 2017. In 2018, he was sent to Jammu & Kashmir as the governor, and during his tenure in 2019, Article 370 was abrogated. Following that, he served as the Governor of Goa and Meghalaya.

During the 13-month-long farmers’ movement, Satya Pal Malik openly criticised the Modi government, which strained his relations with the government. He also levelled serious allegations against the government regarding the Pulwama attack in 2019, accusing the Home Ministry of not providing aircraft to soldiers who died in a suicidal attack. Since then, he has been vocal against the policies of the government and recently threatened to sit on dharna if protesting farmers were not allowed to enter Delhi.