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New Delhi: The CBI will on Friday question former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik in connection with its probe in the alleged insurance “scam” in the Union Territory which came to light after his statement that he was offered bribes to clear related files, officials said.
A CBI team arrived around 11.45 am at the Som Vihar residence of Malik in the RK Puram area of the national capital to seek clarifications from him on his claims, they said.
Malik is not an accused or a suspect in the case so far, they said.
This is the second time in seven months that Malik, who has served as the governor of various states, will be quizzed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
His statement was recorded in October last year after he concluded his gubernatorial responsibilities in Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Goa, and Meghalaya.
After the latest CBI notice to seek clarifications from him, Malik had tweeted, “I have exposed the sins of some people by speaking the truth. Maybe that’s why I have been called. I am the son of a farmer, I will not panic. I stand by the truth.”
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 work 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.
This development comes after Malik’s recent remarks in an interview with The Wire where he stated that the government was to blame for the Pulwama massacre.
Satya Pal Malik, the last Governor of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir who oversaw heightened times that include the abrogation of Article 370, stated in an interview that the Prime Minister squelched him by saying “tum abhi chup raho” when he as governor reported that the Centre’s own mistakes were to blame for the Pulwama massacre.
Malik also said that the Prime Minister is ‘ill-informed’ and ‘does not hate corruption very much’ in an interview with journalist Karan Thapar for The Wire news portal that was posted on Friday night.
Malik mentioned the bombing of the CRPF convoy in Pulwama in February 2019 which claimed the lives of 40 jawans and was turned into an election issue by the BJP in the interview.
“CRPF members requested an aircraft to transport their members because such a sizable convoy seldom travels by road. They enquired the home ministry. They refused to give. They only required 5 aircraft, but they weren’t provided with any,” Malik said.
He recalled the Prime Minister calling him on the evening of February 14, 2019, from outside the Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )