SRINAGAR: Federal investigator, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) has carried out raids at 15 locations, including 14 in Delhi and one in Kishtwar in the alleged kickbacks case involving the Kiru hydropower project. The CBI started investigating the case after the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Psal Malik referred the case to the agency.
Multiple teams from the CBI’s Jammu, Chandigarh, and Delhi offices raided the premises of various companies including AS Chemical Industry, Raj Chemical Industry, Kanhaiya Enterprises, and Raj Solvent. The residences and offices of Directors and Accountants of these firms were searched in Pritam Vihar, Tri Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Vasant Vihar, and Saraswati Vihar in New Delhi, detailed published in Jammu newspaper, The Excelsior said
During the raids, the CBI seized documents, electronic gadgets, and around Rs 55 lakh in cash from the homes and offices of Directors and Accountants associated with the chemical firms. Notable figures include Satish Gupta and his wife, Directors of AS Chemical Industry and Raj Chemical Industry, Anil Kumar, Director of Kanhaiya Enterprises, and Sourabh Gupta and Munish Gupta, Directors of Raj Solvent. Accountants Arun Kumar and Satish Kumar were also targeted in the investigation.
In Kishtwar, the CBI searched the residence and office of Engineer Rishi Sharma, who works as a Junior Engineer in the Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project. Nearly Rs 55 lakh in cash, electronic gadgets, and documents were recovered during the searches.
Sunday raids were the fifth round of searches in connection with the alleged graft in awarding the contract for the Rs 2200-crore civil work for the Kiru Hydro Power Project in 2019. The CBI had previously conducted similar operations on April 21 and July 6 in 2022, and May 17 and December 2 in 2023, the newspaper added.
