Two FIRs registered on the allegations of ex-governor Malik
*Documents relating to real estate investment seized

Sanjeev Pargal

JAMMU, 21st April: The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) today carried out simultaneous raids in 14 locations including the residences of Principal Secretary of Department of Agricultural Development and Farmers Welfare Navin Choudhary at Gandhi Nagar in Jammu and Darbanga in Bihar and former officers of Chenab Valley Power Project Private Limited (CVPPPL) after the agency registered two FIRs.
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Besides Navin Choudhary, a senior IAS officer, raids were carried out on the residences of MS Babu, MK Mittal and Arun Kumar Mishra, all former officers who held high-level CVPPPL positions and owners of M/ s Patel Engineers Mumbai.
Raids have been launched in a total of 14 locations in Jammu, Srinagar, New Delhi, Mumbai, Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Trivandrum in Kerala this morning. The places searched include the offices and residences of the defendants.
Official sources told Excelsior that the CBI had registered two FIRs in connection with allegations of corruption made by former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik in awarding contracts for an insurance scheme group medical for government employees and civil works worth Rs 2,200 crore related to Kiru Hydropower Project in the old state.
The CBI named Reliance General Insurance and Trinity Re-Insurance Brokers Limited as defendants in its FIR over a controversial health insurance scheme for Jammu and Kashmir government employees allegedly authorized by Malik during the Council meeting administrative office on August 31, 2018.
Sources said raids were carried out at Navin Choudhary’s official residence at Gandhi Nagar in Jammu and at his ancestral home at Darbanga in Bihar. The residence of former CVPPL Managing Director MS Babu was raided at Trivandrum in Kerala while the homes of two former CVPPL Directors including MK Mittal and Arun Kumar Mishra were raided at Sarita Vihar in New Delhi and Mumbai respectively .
Homes and offices of owners of Patel Engineering were raided in Mumbai.
The homes and offices of other defendants named in the FIR were also raided in Srinagar and Noida in Uttar Pradesh.
Sources said a large amount of incriminating documents and electronic gadgets were recovered by CBI teams during several raids carried out at different locations during the day.
In addition, they said, documents relating to real estate investments and the number of bank accounts were also found.
The raids ended late tonight, they said.
In its FIR regarding allegations of malfeasance in the award of the contract for the civil works package of the Kiru hydroelectric project, the CBI said that the guidelines for electronic tendering were not followed.
“The case was filed on allegations of malpractice in the award of the contract worth Rs 2,200 crore (approximately) for civil works of the Kiru Hydroelectric Power Project (HEP) to a company private in 2019,” sources said.
The agency has engaged Navin Kumar Chaudhary, former chairman of Chenab Valley Power Projects (P) Ltd, MS Babu, former MD, MK Mittal and Arun Kumar Mishra, former directors and Patel Engineering Ltd in the deal.
“Although a decision was made at the 47th meeting of the CVPPPL board of directors for a new tender via an electronic tender with reverse auctions after the cancellation of the tender process ongoing, this was not implemented (as decided at the 48th Board Meeting) and the tender was ultimately awarded to Patel Engineering Ltd,” FIR alleged .
In the second FIR, the CBI said: “Unknown officials of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir by abusing their official position in the 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 gain pecuniary advantage and caused unjustified loss to the public purse during the period 2017 and 2018 and thus deceived the government of Jammu and Kashmir”.
It has been alleged in various quarters that there were glaring deviations from government standards in the contract awarded to Reliance General Insurance, such as the lack of an online tender, the removal of an initial condition that the seller should have work experience in the state and businesses with turnover of Rs 5,000 crore among others.
“The case was filed at the request of the government of Jammu and Kashmir over allegations of malpractice in the awarding of the J&K Employees Health Insurance Scheme contract to a private company and the release of Rs 60 crore (approx) in 2017-18″, sources mentioned.
After allegations of irregularities surfaced, the program, which was rolled out on September 30, 2018, was scrapped.
“The governor has approved the seizure of the contract with M/s Reliance General Insurance Company (RGIC) for the implementation of the Mediclaim group health insurance policy for state employees and retirees,” a statement said. spokesperson for Raj Bhavan on October 27, 2018.
He said the case was referred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau for review of the entire process to see if it was conducted in a transparent and fair manner.
In the scheme originally signed with RGIC for one year, employees and retirees would have secured Rs 6 lakh coverage for themselves and five dependent family members by paying an annual premium.
Malik, who was governor of Jammu and Kashmir between August 23, 2018 and October 30, 2019, had claimed he was offered a bribe of Rs 300 crore for settling two cases.
“After going to Kashmir, two files came to me (for clearance), one belonging to Ambani and the other to an RSS-affiliated man who was a minister in the previous PDP-BJP coalition government led by Mehbooba Mufti and claimed to be very close to the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi), he said.
“I was informed by the secretaries of both departments that there was a scandal and so I canceled the two agreements. The secretaries told me that “you will be given Rs 150 crore each to erase the files”, but I told them that I came with five kurta-pajamas and will leave with only that,” Malik had said during a rally at an event in Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan in October last year.