The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed the chargesheet against former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik and five others in connection with the Kiru hydropower corruption case, the news agency IANS reported, quoting officials. In 2024, the CBI had carried out searches at eight locations across Delhi and Jammu as part of a probe into alleged corruption involving the awarding of civil contracts worth Rs 2,200 crore for the Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project. The names, shared by the CBI with IANS, include M.S. Babu, M.K. Mittal, Arun Kumar Mishra, Virendra Rana and Kanwar Singh Rana. The chargesheet is linked to an ongoing corruption investigation.
The investigation began after the request of the Jammu and Kashmir government in 2022, seeking a central investigation into the alleged irregularities in the awarding of two major contracts. These concerns were first made by then J&K governor Satya Pal Malik.
Malik publicly alleged that he was offered a Rs 300 crore bribe to approve two files, one of which related to the Kiru project. Malik was Jammu and Kashmir governor from August 23, 2018, to October 30, 2019.
After the news broke out about the Kiru Hydropower Corruption Case, Former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik shared a picture of him, showing him admitted to a hospital and looking critical. He wrote that he is not in a situation to take any call right now as his condtion is not stable and admitted in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi. "Hello friends. I am getting calls from many of my well-wishers which I am unable to take. My condition is very bad right now. I am currently admitted in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Delhi and I am not in a condition to talk to anyone. Contact No.- 9610544972."