“I Stand With Truth”: Former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik Summoned By CBI

Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik has been summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for questioning on April 28 as a witness in a case of alleged corruption by Reliance General Insurance.

Mr Malik told news agency PTI that the CBI has asked for his presence at the agency’s Akbar Road guest house in central Delhi for “certain clarifications”.

“They want certain clarifications for which they want my presence. I am going to Rajasthan so I have given them dates from April 27 to 29 when I am available,” Mr Malik told PTI.

“I have exposed the sins of some people by speaking the truth. Maybe that’s why the call has come. I am the son of a farmer; I will not panic. I stand by the truth,” he also tweeted soon after he received the CBI summons.

Last week, Mr Malik’s comments about the 2019 Pulwama attack triggered a political storm. During an interview with the news website The Wire, Mr Malik claimed that security lapses led to the Pulwama attack in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed. He said a request by the paramilitary force asking for an aircraft to commute was denied by the government, which in turn led to the soldiers travelling by road.

He had also supported farmers who protested for over a year against two new farm laws introduced by the BJP-led centre, which was eventually scrapped, two months before elections in several states including Punjab.

In the case for which the CBI wants to speak to Mr Malik as a witness, he had cancelled a contract by the insurance company, owned by industrialist Anil Ambani, in 2018 when he was the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a first information report (FIR), the CBI named Reliance General Insurance along with Trinity Reinsurance Brokers as accused in the alleged scam in rolling out a medical insurance scheme for Jammu and Kashmir government employees and their families.

Mr Malik had alleged fraud in the insurance scheme, after which the CBI action came.

The scheme, covering some 3.5 lakh employees, was rolled out in September 2018 and it was cancelled within a month by Mr Malik.

At that time, Mr Malik had said state government employees wanted the contract to be cancelled as they found it to be “fraudulent” and he too drew the same conclusion after going through the details.

“I myself went through files, and when I came to the conclusion that the contract was awarded wrongly, I cancelled it,” Mr Malik had said.

The CBI spoke with Mr Malik in September last year for more information about the allegations he made against the insurance firms, and in an another case of alleged corruption in giving the contract for civil work at Kiru hydroelectric power project.