Ranchi: Sunil Singh, an accused in the Usha Martin mining scam, surrendered in the CBI’s special court in Ranchi. Following his surrender, the court granted him conditional bail, imposing the requirement of furnishing two personal bonds of ₹50,000 each and submitting his passport as part of the bail conditions.
At the time the case was filed against him, Sunil Singh was employed with Usha Martin. Currently, he holds the position of General Manager (GM) at JSW. He is accused of corruption related to the allocation of mines to Usha Martin in 2005.
In 2005, Usha Martin was allocated an iron ore mine in the Ghatkuri region of West Singhbhum. Allegations of corruption have been made regarding the mine allocation process. Other accused in the case, including IAS officers Arun Kumar Singh and Indradev Paswan, have also received relief from the court.
According to the CBI, Sunil Singh played a role in the alleged scam. The Delhi unit of the CBI registered an FIR under the provisions of criminal conspiracy, fraud, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, identifying Usha Martin’s promoters and mining department officials as accused.
The FIR claims that state government officials had shown favoritism towards Usha Martin when sending their recommendation for mine allocation to the central government. The company allegedly promised that it would use the iron ore for its steel plant in Hat Gamharia. The company had also submitted an undertaking to the state government. However, the CBI has accused the company of later retracting its commitment, claiming that there was no specific mention of the undertaking in the Cabinet note.