Srinagar: The blacklisting of a contractor linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) seems to have paved the way for the controversy surrounding the 850-MW Ratle power project in J&K’s Kishtwar district, The Wire has learnt.Sanjay Parrihar, a former village headman (sarpanch) from Kuntwara, emerged as the face of the agitation in Kishtwar after he publicly threatened the Ratle project head Harpal Singh and the human resource chief Burhan Andrabi with “dire consequences” while falsely alleging that they had links with Pakistan and militancy.The threat came after the MEIL issued an order for retrenchment of 320 employees, prompting uproar from the BJP’s Kishtwar leaders and activists who claimed that the retrenchment had targeted only the local employees while outsiders had retained their jobs, a claim which later turned out to be false.Sanjay was blacklisted earlier this year for failing to complete a contract worth Rs 1.13 crore, a MEIL official said.Although documents show that Sanjay’s family has not lost any land in the Ratle project, he is believed to have used his political clout to bag ‘work orders’ worth millions of rupees from the MEIL in the name of his father Tara Chand Parrihar and sister Neelima Manhas.Documents accessed by The Wire show that Sanjay’s father bagged at least two work orders worth Rs 16.19 lakh and Rs 1.13 crore from the Hyderabad-based company in 2024 while Sanjay’s sister bagged at least five contracts worth around Rs 8 lakh.The retaining wall near Ratle power project which was allegedly left midway by Sanjay Parrihar, a contractor linked to the BJP. Photo by arrangement.However, according to sources, a retaining wall at the Ratle project site which was part of the second work order sanctioned in the name of Tara Chand collapsed during construction last year.A MEIL official alleged that even though the project was in shambles, Sanjay started putting pressure on the company seeking full payment. “To get over the headache, the company decided to settle the matter with him once and for all,” the official said.Sanjay, a BJP worker who is among the government-protected persons provided personal security by the J&K administration, has been seen on camera at public functions felicitating top J&K BJP leaders.J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah and his predecessor Mehbooba Mufti have blamed the saffron party’s Kishtwar leaders including MLA Shagun Parrihar and the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Sunil Sharma for meddling in the power project.Documents show that the incomplete work order of Rs 1.13 crore was modified to Rs 59.30 lakh with a non-judicial undertaking submitted to the MEIL on January 22 this year by Sanjay’s father stating that he has received Rs 45.24 lakh out of Rs 75.49 lakh ‘work done recorded’.The MEIL said that the balance Rs 29.04 lakh was paid to Sanjay’s father through a cheque. “I acknowledge that this undertaking is given voluntarily and that by signing below I confirm that I have received the full and final payment and there are no pending due or claims from my side,” Tara Chand said in the notarised affidavit.However, the MEIL official said that after taking the payment despite leaving the project midway, the family took the issue to the Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (RHPCL), accusing the company of not clearing their dues.In its response, the MEIL shot a letter to the RHPCL, stating that the father-son duo had entered into a “full and final settlement” through the affidavit and that they were awarded contracts worth more than Rs 75 lakh “despite not being a land loser” family.“The work was executed only of Rs 59.3 lakh and fifty percent payment of Rs 59.3 lakh was released against this work order. The balance fifty percent was released by cheque … worth Rs 29.05 lakhs,” a MEIL letter to RHPCL on February 13 this year noted.A MEIL official said that the failure to complete the contract prompted the Ratle management to ban Sanjay from getting future construction works or other contracts after which he allegedly started “playing politics” over the 850-MW hydropower project.Also read: At least 3 Ratle Power Project Employees Branded ‘Anti-National’ by J&K Police Linked With BJPIn August, the MEIL informed the labour commissioner (Jammu) in a letter about the retrenchment of 320 skilled, semiskilled and unskilled workers under clause (c) of section 25-f of the Industrial Dispute Act 1947.The company assured the commissioner that the retrenched workers would be compensated under law. “Later, only 200 employees were retrenched who were given a notice period of 30 days and retrenchment compensation of 30 days for completed year of service against 15 days, as per law,” the MEIL official said.During his first protest on December 13, Sanjay tried to paint the retrenchment issue with communal colours, alleging that some employees with connections to militancy and Pakistan retained their jobs while locals had paid a price.Documents show that out of 320 employees who were selected for retrenchment, at least 73 were non-locals from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and other states while the local employees also belonged to Doda, Ramban, Jammu and Poonch districts besides Kishtwar where the project is coming up.Making no secret of his association with the BJP legislators Shagun Parrihar and the LoP Sharma, Sanjay threatened Singh and Andrabi on December 13 to “mend your ways or prepare to face the consequences”.The threat came days after Andrabi was attacked near the project site which had invited an FIR from the Kishtwar police. The company has named four local residents as the accused in the case in a letter to the Kishtwar police whom Sanjay has sought to defend.Screengrab of Sanjay Parrihar addressing a protest outside the Ratle project office in Kishtwar on December 13. Photo by arrangement.Addressing a small group of supporters and some affected employees outside the project office in Drabshalla, Sanjay dubbed the company’s legally sanctioned retrenchment process as the “agenda of Pakistan and Kashmir”.On November 1, a J&K police letter to the MEIL management had mentioned that 29 employees at the Ratle project “were found to be involved in subversive/anti-national” activities, citing an undertrial case of criminal trespass and other largely non-heinous offences filed against them.While the police called for reconsidering their employment, the company has not disengaged these employees apparently because they have not been convicted in any case, even though the J&K police has noted the suspected militancy links of five employees in its letter.As The Wire has previously reported, at least three of these employees have also been associated with the BJP while the family members of some who have been accused by the BJP of having links with terrorists have also been photographed with the Kishtwar legislator Shagun Parrihar.“On the one hand the BJP is trying to win over the families who have been involved in militancy and on the other hand they are dubbing the same people as anti-nationals and terrorists because it is convenient. This is hypocrisy and it will hurt the party,” a local resident said, wishing to remain anonymous.Using communal references against Andrabi, a resident of Kashmir who was moved from the MEIL’s Zojila tunnel project to the Kishtwar project, Sanjay said:“Are you a Wani or a Qutb? You are a Qutb Din. It sounds like [you have] the DNA of Mughals. Brother, we have only Khans here. There are no Qutb Dins here. The Mughals may have ruled us but they were plunderers. Do you also belong to the family of plunderers?”Sanjay also sought to use an Islamophobic reference to link the Ratle project chief with terrorism by deploying a derogatory gesture to describe Singh’s white beard.“Looking at the [Ratle] project it seems that the government of Pakistan is running it. If they try to test me, two people will find it difficult to come here. Harpal and Burhan. I won’t allow them to come here. They are playing this game. Kashmir has ruined entire India since before 1947,” he said.Sanjay, who has previously worked as ‘liaison officer’ at the Ratle project stoked a controversy in October this year after claiming that the victory of his teenage son in a judo championship over his Muslim opponent from Kashmir felt “just like winning a match against Pakistan”.In another protest, Sanjay seemed to have toned down his rhetoric, saying that his agitation was not against the retrenchment of employees but against the denial of work contracts to ‘locals’. He also sought to defend the December 5 assault on Andrabi.“A select group is getting the contracts for labour supplies and the workers are being moved around like puppets. Do we not exist? We will lock Harpal in the police station. Who is he to decide who gets contracts and who doesn’t,” Sanjay shouted, as the gathering of about 14 people erupted in ‘desh ke gaddaro ko, goli maro saalo ko’ (shoot the traitors) slogans.The company has denied his charge. Sanjay hasn’t provided any proof to back his allegations of terrorism and Pakistan links of the Ratle project’s two key officials. He could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.The BJP-linked contractor’s allegations have been repeated and amplified by a local social media influencer Asif Iqbal Naik against whom the MEIL sought criminal proceedings under sections 351 (criminal intimidation) and 356 (criminal defamation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with sections 66-E and 67 of the Information Technology Act.Although the MEIL filed the complaint against Naik on December 15, it was not immediately known whether any action had been taken. Deputy commissioner Kishtwar Pankaj Kumar could not be reached for comment on the status of the complaint against Naik.