Former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik, who spoke about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approach to Pulwama attack last week, has been called by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), for questioning on April 28.
The questioning will be on the Reliance Insurance issue – the scheme that senior RSS leader Ram Madhav was pushing Malik to pass while he was the governor of Jammu and Kashmir, and which Malik cancelled, The Wire reported.
Malik will be going to the CBI’s guest house on Akbar Road in New Delhi to answer questions.
On April 14, during an interview with The Wire, Malik said that Ram Madhav paid the then J&K governor a special visit to try and get him to pass a scheme proposed by Reliance Insurance. When Malik made it clear that the scheme had been cancelled and the paperwork was done, Madhav left disappointed, Malik said.
The CBI notice comes days after Malik claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him not to speak about lapses that led to the militant attack at Pulwama in 2019.
In an interview with The Wire’s Karan Thapar, Malik said that the attack took place due to the incompetence and negligence of the Central Reserve Police Force and the Union home ministry.
A suicide bomber driving a car filled with explosives collided with a bus transporting CRPF personnel in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on February 14, 2019. The attack resulted in the death of 40 CRPF personnel, and it was claimed by the Pakistani militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Malik had revealed that the CRPF had requested aircraft to transport their personnel, as such a large convoy does not travel via road. The convoy included over 2,500 personnel and consisted of 78 vehicles.
The former governor told The Wire: “They only needed five aircraft, but these were not provided to them.. I told the prime minister on the same evening that this [the attack] took place because of our mistake. If we had provided them with aircraft, this would not have happened. But he asked me to stay silent about it.”
Malik said he was also advised by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to refrain from discussing the issue.
Citing the interview, the Congress said that the Pulwama attack took place because of the Modi government’s mistake. “You [Modi] should have taken action on this mistake, but you suppressed this fact and set about trying to save your image,” it said. “The country is stunned to hear Satya Pal Malik’s words.”
