SAIL Ka Khel – Steel Maharatna’s Senior Manager Whistle-Blower Rajeev Bhatia Falls Prey To System

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), the Maharatna Steel PSU of the country, has hit the headlines again, but this time not for good news. The top authorities of the PSU have put a permanent full-stop on the career and services of its own General Manager, Rajeev Bhatia.

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 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.

Steel Authority of India (SAIL) revoked the suspension of 29 officials, including three directors, 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).

Vengeance Time

In June, 2024, the suspension of these officials was revoked and they came back to power.

But the high and mighty did not stop here as they had to settle scores with the whistleblower, Rajeev Bhatia. Bhatia was given poor grades and ultimately, forced into retirement along with 11 others, by those seeking revenge against him.

Repeated queries to Chairman SAIL – Amarendu Prakash, VS Chakravarthy, Director (Commercial), AK Tulsiani, Director (Finance), from www.indianpsu.com – asking their view on the forced retirement of Rajeev Bhatia, went unanswered.

Strangely enough, when PSU’s like SAIL and others, who work for five days a week, i.e. Monday to Friday – www.indianpsu.com was surprised to receive an email from the Corporate Communications Department of SAIL on Sunday night at 9:47 pm, which read as “Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), a Maharatna CPSE under Ministry of Steel, has a policy for undertaking assessment of probity and efficacy of executives above 50 years of age. Detailed guidelines in this regard, approved by Board of Directors of the Company, lay down the criteria for reviewing the effectiveness, efficiency, conduct and integrity of executives based on service records. After the last such review, the recommendations of various Standing Committees in SAIL Plants / Units were considered by respective Competent Authorities and in line with the provisions similar to Fundamental Rule 56(j) in SAIL’s Conduct Discipline & Appeals Rules, it was decided to retire 11 executives in the interest of maintaining efficiency, integrity and accountability in the organization”. 

Is it not strange that SAIL’s official statement says “assessment of probity and efficacy of executives above 50 years of age“, should not the same apply to Amarendu Prakash and his directors – Please do step aside and bring in fresh blood instead!

Moreover, the official reply was too vague and devoid of facts related to the blue-eyed boys of SAIL Chairman Amarendu Prakash, issues related to corruption were not addresed to. No proper reply regarding to the forced retirement of Rajeev Bhatia.

What does one call the entire episode – SAIL Ka Khel or End of Reason For SAIL……………..

We Report, You Decide!

To be continued