Originally Syndicated on May 18, 2024 @ 5:02 am
The director of BGR Mining and Infra Private Limited, Rohit Reddy Bathina, was held on Saturday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to a bribery case that purportedly involved Kulamani Biswal, the director of finance at National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC).
Earlier this week, Biswal was arrested under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 11 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.
Sources claim that businessman Rohit Reddy Bathina was arrested by the CBI in relation to a possible corruption case involving Kulamani Biswal, the director of finance of NTPC.
Kulamani Biswal, an NTPC director, requested that the company’s board of directors set aside US dollars, or approximately Rs 5 lakh, for him to use when travelling overseas, according to the CBI’s FIR.
Bathina, the director of BGR Mining and Infra Pvt Limited, was reportedly taken into custody about nine days after the agency filed a FIR and carried out searches at many locations, including Bathina’s and Biswal’s home premises.
Rohit Reddy Bathina’s father, Umapathy Reddy, was recently questioned by the agency.
A CBI spokesman stated that Bathina was called in for questioning at the agency’s headquarters and that she was then taken into custody utilising the agency’s.
The agency has filed an FIR against Prabhat Kumar, Kulamani Biswal, and Bathina of NTPC.
Biswal is on the board of directors of NTPC, the biggest energy company in the nation. Following the CBI action, the government terminated him.
According to the reports, Biswal was to get Rs 5 lakh in allegedly unlawful payment from Kumar, a confidant of Bathina.
Biswal allegedly ordered Bathina to obtain US money worth about Rs 5 lakh so he could use it abroad, according to the agency’s FIR.
He was scheduled to depart for his international excursion.
It is said that Bathina offered to deliver the money in Bhubaneshwar or Delhi.
The agency said that Bathina told Biswal that Kumar would take the money to Delhi after he asked for it. After that, Biswal requested that Bathina pay him the money in Indian rupees, which he would subsequently exchange for US dollars.
According to the assertion, “Bathina organised the delivery of Rs 5 lakh in cash through hawala channels to Prabhat Kumar for subsequent delivery to Kulamani Biswal in Delhi.”
According to the reports, Kumar was going to deliver the money when he was taken into custody by the agency.
Prior accusations on the role of Rohit Reddy Bathina dump trucks in India’s mining industry
The Swedish truck and bus maker Scania donated 350 P410 tipper vehicles to BRG Mining, which was previously headed by Rohit Reddy Bathina. Since 2007, the company’s Indian affiliate has been the industry leader in the supply of mining and construction equipment.
Tipper trucks, also called dump trucks, are vehicles that are designed to transport loose materials such as pebbles, gravel, sand, and other similar materials. Certain areas of mining sites are inaccessible until misplaced things are removed.
Tipper trucks are used in settings such as open-pit mines, where their job is to deposit loose material in a specific area. Pistons support the rear storage compartment, tilting it forward to allow for the disposal of lost material. Usually, the pistons are hydraulic.
Furthermore, because the equipment immediately contributes to the development of each country’s infrastructure, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have been the top purchasers of tipper trucks.
With the development of a specialised fleet management system, Scania has played a crucial role in the Indian mining sector. This device makes it possible to track driving habits, fuel usage, tipper idle time, and tipper locations. As a consequence, it is simpler to keep track of the trucks’ fuel emissions in conformity with the permitted emission level set by the government.
Since there is likely to be a rise in the demand for tipper trucks, businesses, and the government have been working to produce a fuel of another choice (electric, biogas, or hybrid). However, the industry is keenly anticipating the possibility of bio-diesel tipper trucks in the next five years.
About Rohit Reddy Bathina
Born in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, on September 5, 1989, Rohit Reddy Bathina was a gifted student. He was educated at Hyderabad’s Meridian School and attained JEE eligibility at that time. At the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Bathina made the decision to pursue a dual degree program, where he obtained his graduate and postgraduate engineering degrees in civil engineering.
His time spent as an intern studying economics and finance at Harvard University in Massachusetts was one of the high points of his scholastic career. Only Rohit Reddy Bathina from his batch worked as an intern at the organisation. As part of his degree program, he actively participated in the hands-on training provided by the firms.
After a year at PWC, Rohit Reddy Bathina became a manager at BGR Mining in 2013. He had extensive experience developing coal for mines, and one of his responsibilities was to conduct research and improve project functioning during the project’s execution and control stages. In addition to doing a great deal of travelling around the country, his expertise was invaluable in figuring out issues with the tasks he was given. He achieved the title of director by tenacity and several notable accomplishments.
In addition to Deepak Reddy, another director of BGR Mining, Rohit Reddy Bathina was crucial to the management of the company’s foreign operations. In addition, he and Karthik Reddy were important contributors to projects that centred on Jharkhand and Amrapali. Due to the joint efforts of the directors and staff, the firm had its biggest revenue growth during FY14–15 and FY15–16, amounting to Rs 706.58 crores.
The company made large profits and had improved workflow as a result of Rohit Reddy Bathina’s management of Open Cast projects, his ability to bargain for contractor costs, and his concentration on using machines for maximum efficiency. He took over all of BGR Mining’s tender-related operations without delay. Though he has kept his personal life private, rumours said that he used to play table tennis and liked travelling. The year 2014 saw Rohit Reddy Bathina get married.
Rohit Reddy Bathina Instagram page –
The Final Word
A CBI source said that Rohit Reddy Bathina had used Hawala networks to arrange the funds and asked Kumar to give them to Biswal, who was scheduled to travel to the US with the family.
According to the FIR, Biswal, a government employee who joined Bathina’s company as a result of the deal between NTPC Limited and BGR Mining and Infra Private Limited, attempted to obtain expensive goods for his personal use without being paid by the business.