CBI raids former SP Malik aide's premises under corruption probe
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday raided the premises of Saunak Bali, the former media advisor of former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik, along with 11 other locations in Delhi and Rajasthan, reported The Indian Express. The raids were conducted in connection with the alleged corruption in the Kiru hydel power project in the union territory in 2019.
Malik claimed he was offered Rs. 300cr bribe
Notably, the agency was approached by the J&K administration last year following the corruption allegations leveled by the then Meghalaya Governor Malik, who said he was offered a Rs. 300 crore bribe to clear two files related to the project during his tenure as the J&K governor. He claimed that one of the files was related to a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader.
CBI registered case last year
Last year, the CBI registered a First Information Report (FIR) against many officers involved in the alleged corruption. It had stated that Mohammad Usman Khan, Deputy Secretary (General Administration Department), J&K, sought a CBI investigation into "allegations of malpractices in the award of contract, in respect of civil works of Kiru Hydroelectric Power Project on the basis of reports of Anti-Corruption Bureau of J&K."
