SAIL Chairman Shies Away From Open Debate With Whistle Blower Rajeev Bhatia
Rajeev Bhatia, the whistleblower of the Rs. 800 crore scam of SAIL, was forced into retirement by SAIL management
“Truth is only harsh if you’re unable to face it.” said famous author Stewart Stafford.
It is perhaps for the first time in the history of Indian Public Sector Undertakings that an official and a whistle blower named Rajeev Bhatia, who blew the lid of the Rs. 800 crore scam of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and was later forced into forced retirement, had openly challenged SAIL Chairman Amarendu Prakash for an one to one public debate.
www.indianpsu.com sent two emails to Mr. Prakash and SAIL’s Corporate Communications Department, asking whether Mr. Amarendu Prakash was willing to have a face off with Rajeev Bhatia and if yes, when and where. But both the emails did not elicit any response, making it amply clear that Mr. Prakash was in no mood or position to face the whistle blower, that too, on a public platform.
So finally, the debate does not seem to be on!
As a matter of fact, Bhatia was the person who raised the Rs. 800 crore scam of SAIL following which the Ministry of Steel had, 0n January 19, 2024, had placed 29 officials of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) under suspension including V.S. Chakravarthy – Director Commercial and A.K. Tulsiani – Director Finance (recently retired) of the Steel Maharatna PSU.
In January 2024, the Steel Ministry of India suspended 29 officials of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). The suspension was due to an ongoing Lokpal investigation into alleged discrepancies in commercial dealings. Reasons for suspension was lack of due diligence, tweaking policy in favor of companies and loss of opportunity to maximize profits. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was also directed to probe SAIL’s dealings with Venkatesh Infra Projects and Avon Steel Industries.
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The suspension of 29 officials, including three directors, was revoked in June 2024. The suspension had been ordered in January 2024 following investigations into alleged misconduct. The officers included VS Chakravarthy, Director (Commercial), AK Tulsiani, Director (Finance), SK Sharma, Executive Director (F&A), Vinod Gupta, Executive Director (Commercial), Atul Mathur, Executive Director (Sales & ITD), RM Suresh, Executive Director (Marketing Services) and others. It is alleged that due to the clout they wielded, the suspension of these officers was later revoked and the case is still being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI).
A very pertinent question we would like to raise here, that if Mr. Amarendu Prakash and SAIL management is on this right track and the allegations made by Rajeev Bhatia are baseless, what is Mr. Prakash afraid of ?
We Report, You Decide……
