BLA UDYOG PRIVATE LIMITED and VENKATESH INFRA PROJECTS PVT LTD

Whistle Blower Rajeev Bhatia after not being heard by SAIL management and PMO, approached LOKPAL of India in February 2023 with  complaints of financial irregularities and corruption  against various officials of SAIL regarding supply of steel to Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd ; Avon Steel Industries P Ltd and Hi-Tech Pipes Ltd. 

After going through the investigation report of CVO-SAIL, recommendations of Ministry of Steel ; remarks of CVC ; the defence placed by CMD SAIL Amerandu Prakash and arguments of highly paid counsels hired and paid by SAIL to defend its retired senior officers alleged with corruption charges, LOKPAL vide its order dated January 10, 2024 handed over the matter of Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd and  Avon Steel Industries P Ltd to CBI for detailed investigations. Following the direction, CBI registered two FIRs viz. RC2182024A0021 on October 10, 2024 and RC2182025A0015 dated July 25, 2025 respectively. 

Source : Order dated January 10, 2024 of Honourable LOKPAL of India

Before LOKPAL primary defence presented by SAIL officials is that Project Credentials of M/s Venkatesh were not verified as there is no such provision in the MOU policy of SAIL for PROJECTS. It is highly bewildering and unbelievable that to apply a policy with is specifically applicable for PROJECTS, one would not do some basic checks also to find out that the company with whom PROJECT MOU is being signed is doing any kind of PROJECT/CONSTRUCTION work or not particularly in this age of internet when only one click on the GOOGLE SEARCH would throw lot of relevant information. The documents available on internet have been largely used by ‘Bureaugram.com’ to do this investigation on M/s Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd.

Source : Order dated January 10, 2024 of Honourable LOKPAL of India

It has been gathered from inside sources of CMO-SAIL that the above argument is fallacious and completely absurd. After being caught on the wrong foot and bereft of any bona-fide reason, shelter has been taken by SAIL officials in the above argument to hook-wink and misguide the investigating agencies as there are many other policy circulars available which make a mention of due-diligence before supplying steel to project / construction firms using the discounts’ structure applicable for projects.  

Above argument seems to be hoax – SAIL was already in business with the promoters of Venkatesh – Completely knew their business activities

‘Bureaugram.com’ has fetched many documents which suggests that the  argument / defence taken by SAIL officials before the investigating agencies is “HOAX”. 

Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd is promoted by an Agrawal family with its directors as Ekta Agarwal and Karishma Agarwal. The same family promotes another company - BLA UDYOG PRIVATE LIMITED.

BLA UDYOG PRIVATE LIMITED is the flagship company of the Agarwal family which is based in Dhanbad, Jharkhand . The company was incorporated on December 18, 2010 and is involved in retailing / wholesaling / trading of various kinds of items namely steel pipes, hardware items, TMT Bars etc.

OLD WINE in NEW BOTTLE

Source : order dated January 10, 2024 of Honourable LOKPAL of India

If for an argument’s sake, for a moment it is believed that orders given by M/s APCO to M/s Venkatesh Steel were transferred to M/s Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd, then also the orders from M/s APCO were at maximum can be for supply of steel products and not for any Construction/Project work as M/s Venkatesh Steel is registered with GST with nature of core business activity as “Trader-Wholesaler/Distributor”. 

It has been gathered that when M/s APCO was asked to produce the copies of the transferred orders, they mentioned that they are unable to produce the old work orders issued to M/s Venkatesh Steel as these projects are closed projects and it is difficult to get the work orders from the old records. (Matter does not seem as straight as being claimed)

 In addition to GSTIN - 07ABLPA7003M1ZQ which has been suspended on November 28, 2025, Venkatesh Steel has two more GSTIN viz. 23ABLPA7003M1ZW (which has been cancelled suo-moto from September 1, 2017)  and 27ABLPA7003M1ZO (which has been suspended from September 11, 2025), both with nature of core business activity as “Retail Business” and “Trader-Wholesaler/Distributor” respectively. The above timelines show that Venkatesh Steel was an active company when M/s APCO transferred orders to M/s Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd which were earlier given to given M/s Venkatesh Steel. 

The take of ‘Bureaugram.com’ is that the name of the firm “Venkatesh Steel” did not sound like a PROJECT firm as it did not contain words like “Infra”; “Projects”; “Infracon”; “Buidcon”; “infrastructure” etc. Therefore, Agarwals floated a new firm named “Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd” although  nature of core business activity was the same which was “Trader-Wholesaler/Distributor”.

With this ‘Bureaugram.com’ rest its case and leave it to the prudence of the investigating agencies and citizens of the country as to whether sales to M/s Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd as a PROJECT was a drafted, crafted, or grafted act.

The modus-operandi adopted with BLA UDYOG PRIVATE LIMITED  is the same as was adopted by SAIL in the supply of 1,50,000 Tonnes of steel to M/s Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd. On the directions of Lokpal of India, CBI has already registered  F.I.R. No. RC2182024A0021 on 10.10.2024 u/s 120B, 420, 468, 471 IPC and Sections 7, 9 and 12 of the P.C. Act, 1988 as amended against the erring senior officials of SAIL, M/s Venkatesh Infra Projects P Ltd and M/s APCO Infratech P Ltd.