CBI to probe bribe charges by former JK guv Malik: LG Sinha

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday said that the Central Bureau of Investigation has been given consent to probe allegations made by former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik of being offered bribe to clear two files when he was in office.

He said that the probe will make "everything crystal clear".

Malik had in October last year claimed that he was offered Rs 300 crore in bribe to clear a file each belonging to "Ambani" and an "RSS-affiliated man" during his tenure.

At present the Meghalaya governor, Malik said that he cancelled the deals, and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supporting his decision by saying there is no need to compromise on corruption.

"If someone sitting on such a high post has said anything, then it needs to be probed. We have sent our consent to CBI to probe both allegations,” Sinha told reporters at a press conference in Jammu.

Sinha said that he considered the allegations and decided that truth needs to come out.

Malik in his allegation last year had said that he was offered a bribe of Rs 150 crore each for clearing two files, one of them related to Ambani and other to a former minister in the previous Mehbooba Mufti-led (People's Democratic Party-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition) government.

He had also alleged that the minister was also said to be someone “very close to the prime minister”.

“I was informed by secretaries in both the departments that there is a scandal involved and I accordingly cancelled both the deals. The secretaries said to me 'you will get Rs 150 crore each for clearing the files' but I told them that I had come with five kurta-pajamas and would leave with that only," Malik had said at an event in Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.

The CBI is reported to have initiated a probe into the allegations of the former J&K governor.