CBI raid on Drabu’s properties sends Delhi’s tough signal to J&K

Jammu: Tuesday’s searches by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the premises of the former directors of board of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd (JKB) would have normally passed off as a routine activity by the Central agency. But the operation generated surprise when it became public that the CBI had also conducted raids on the properties of the former high profile politician Haseeb Drabu.
The raids were reportedly linked to FIR No: RC1232021A0010 Dated 11 November 2021 filed at CBI’s Srinagar station in the matter of JKB’s purchase of a multi-floor property at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex in the year 2010 when Drabu was the bank’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. On 10 July 2021, J&K’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed FIR No: 14/2021 after a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) established the charges that the BKC property had been purchased on an exorbitant price in violation of the codal formalities.
In an extraordinary development, the CBI took over the investigation on the request of the Jammu and Kashmir Government’s Deputy Secretary of General Administration Department (GAD) who recorded, on 11 August 2021, that the case involved “inter-State investigation and also expertise of financial/banking and real estate available with the CBI”. The communication went out with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor.
According to the ACB’s PE, JKB had issued an advertisement seeking offers for acquisition of 20,000 square foot floor area for ‘integrated office premises’ at Bandra Kurla on 6 November 2008. Twenty-five builders submitted offers and eight of them were shortlisted. Spot inspection was conducted by the bank’s high level committee on 13 December 2008. Ashapura Builders with their quoted rate of Rs 25,000 per sft figured as the lowest bidder.
On 28 July 2009, JKB received a letter from Ashapura Builders expressing willingness to offer the 3rd floor of the building, measuring 30,000 sft, at Rs 22,500 per sft. The application was processed and submitted to the Chairman for his decision. “A committee was constituted with approval of the chairman to take a view with regard to the offer received. The committee so constituted has done nothing in respect of offers received especially on the application of M/S Ashapura Builders”, reveals the PE.
Upon directions from JKB Corporate Headquarters in Srinagar, the bank’s Mumbai Zonal Head published another advertisement on 14 January 2010, seeking offers for office space of 25,000 to 30,000 sft and 15 single BHK and 10 double BHK flats as residential flats in or around Andheri. Twenty-three offers were received. M/S Ashapura Builders again offered the lowest rate of Rs 25,000 per sft.
JKB’s Board of Directors (BOD) held a meeting on 25 February 2010 in which the Director Estate Committee briefed about the site inspections of the shortlisted properties by the Estate Committee. Ignoring the lowest bid of M/S Ashapura Builders, the BOD accorded approval to the proposal of M/S Akruti Gold BKC who quoted Rs 26,000 per sft. It worked out to Rs 109 crore for the entire building and Rs 73 crore for the proposed 6 floors. The BOD decided that JKB should hold negotiations with M/S Akruti Gold for purchasing the entire building.
Rate of Rs 26,000 per sft was finalised and approved for 9 floors of Akruti Gold BKC property having chargeable area of 63,776 sft. “A letter of intent was signed with the builder and a token money of Rs 25 crore was paid to developer Vishal Techno Commerce Limited '', reads the PE. The BOD accorded approval to the acquisition vide B.R. No: 37 dated 15 June 2010. “Subsequently a conveyance deed in respect of property (Akru Gold) at BKC Mumbai was registered on 18.09.2010 against a total sale consideration of Rs 180,57,05,200 including stamp duties, registration charges, property tax and maintenance charges etc”.
The PE observed that there was already enough space for the bank’s all establishments in Mumbai and there was no requirement of purchasing any additional accommodation.
“The Zonal Office Mumbai, Branch Bandra Kurla and Treasury were already functioning in the Bank’s own buildings. The advertisements issued were for 20,000 sft and 20,000—30,000 sft respectively in response to which the rates offered by M/S Ashapura Builders were Rs 25,000 & Rs 22,000 per sft. However in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy hatched among the officers/officials of J&K Bank and the owners of Akruti Gold BKC, to confer undue benefit upon the beneficiary owners and for personal pecuniary gains, officers/officials of J&K Bank approved purchase of 65,065 sft area at Rs 26,000 per sft on highly exorbitant consideration of Rs 180,57,05,200 in blatant disregard to the tendering process with consequent loss to the Bank exchequer”, says the ACB’s PE.
While the CBI was through its preliminaries, the Enforcement Directorate called and quizzed the then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah at its New Delhi headquarters for about five hours on 8 April 2022. Over a month later, the CBI conducted its first raids on the properties of the key accused—then Chairman Haseeb Drabu and then directors Ashok Kumar Mehta, Vikrant Kuthiala and Mohammad Ibrahim Shahdad. The directors were reportedly the members of the bank’s Estates Committee which reported the matters to Drabu.
In the last over 3 years, the CBI and its sister agencies at the Centre have taken over a number of FIRs involving J&K’s politicians including the former Chief Ministers Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti. However, searches have been conducted only on the premises and business establishments of a junior political activist and the businessman son of the former Finance Minister Abdul Rahim Rather. Later, both of them joined a political party which is perceived to be in a relationship with the BJP.
The raid on Drabu’s houses is unprecedented and significant for a host of reasons. After a tryst with the Planning Commission, Drabu was engaged by the J&K Government as Economic Advisor. Later, Mufti Sayeed’s PDP-Congress got him appointed as Chairman of JKB. In January 2009, Drabu was relieved as Economic Advisor but Chief Minister Omar Abdullah retained him as Chairman of JKB. Omar sought his resignation in August 2010, days after the KBC deal was struck.
In 2014, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed inducted Drabu as Finance Minister. In power and importance, he emerged next only to Mufti as he played the most crucial role in forging PDP’s coalition with the BJP. Along with Ram Madhav, Drabu was the co-author of the PDP-BJP Government’s ‘Agenda of Alliance’. For about three years, he had direct access to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His limelight dimmed only after Mehbooba Mufti sacked him and Altaf Bukhari replaced him as Finance Minister in March 2018.
Even after becoming irrelevant in politics after his exit from PDP, Drabu is considered to be a man of high political and bureaucratic clout in the Government of India. The CBI raids on his premises have occurred at a time when a section of the opinion in J&K had begun to assert that the Central agencies’ actions were nothing but ‘drama’ and ‘eyewash’. People were referring to the CBI and other agencies going silent and soft on the politicians joining the BJP-friendly parties or keeping ‘good relations’ with the Modi government.
The raid on Drabu is unambiguously the Modi government’s signal that nobody, however powerful, would be spared in the fight against corruption. Will it stand the test of time or not remains a big question mark.

Updated On 5/11/2022 12:11:21 PM