• Top Story
  • Weekly
  • Latest
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • Interview
  • Feature
  • Sports
  • News
  • J&K
  • World
  • Education
  • Health
  • Economy
  • Culture
  • Literature
  • Lifestyle
  • Books
What's Hot

Prolonged Conflict in the Valley Has Laid Bare the State of the Medical Systems: Dr. Sameer Kaul

October 10, 2023

Writer’s Block What!

October 8, 2023

Book Review: The Divine Dialect of Flowers

October 5, 2023
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Trending
  • Prolonged Conflict in the Valley Has Laid Bare the State of the Medical Systems: Dr. Sameer Kaul
  • Writer’s Block What!
  • Book Review: The Divine Dialect of Flowers
  • Tatakooti—Challenges of Owning a Towering Peak
  • Interview: ‘Travel, Observing and Tasting is the Best Way to Learn’
  • What is Ailing the Apple Farming?
  • From Collaboration to Conundrum: Pakistan’s Journey in Space Exploration
  • In Iraq’s Arbaeen, a Promise of Resurgence
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
 Kashmir Newsline – Expression Unleashed Kashmir Newsline – Expression Unleashed
  • Weekly

    Weekly Dec 25 – Dec 31, 2022

    December 25, 2022

    Weekly Dec 05 – 11 Dec,2022

    December 7, 2022

    Weekly Nov 28 – Dec 04, 2022

    November 30, 2022

    Weekly November 21-27

    November 22, 2022

    Weekly November 14-20

    November 16, 2022
  • News
    1. India
    2. South Aisa
    3. World
    Featured
    Recent

    Prolonged Conflict in the Valley Has Laid Bare the State of the Medical Systems: Dr. Sameer Kaul

    October 10, 2023

    Writer’s Block What!

    October 8, 2023

    Book Review: The Divine Dialect of Flowers

    October 5, 2023
  • Feature
    1. Interview
    2. Literature
    3. Editorial
    4. Opinion
    5. Top Story
    6. Books
    7. View All

    Interview: ‘Travel, Observing and Tasting is the Best Way to Learn’

    October 2, 2023

    AS Dulat’s Kashmir Stories

    February 4, 2023

    Interview: ‘People are Deeply Pained by Mirwaiz’s Absence from Jamia Masjid’

    November 16, 2022

    ‘Abrogation of Article 370 has Made Kashmir More Dangerous than 1990s’

    October 18, 2022

    The Poet of Love—Daagh Dehlvi’s Poetry has Native Idiom and Sufi Undercurrent

    May 30, 2023

    The Breadth and Sweep of Sahir Ludhianvi’s Works

    March 8, 2023

    Memories of Gulmarg

    January 28, 2023

    ‘If This Language Lives On, Rahi Also Lives On’

    January 18, 2023

    Kashmir Needs Collective Fight against Glaring Drug Abuse

    December 27, 2022

    Healthcare Emergency

    December 7, 2022

    Traffic Mess: Who is to Blame? 

    November 30, 2022

    Give the Artists the Space They Need

    November 23, 2022

    Writer’s Block What!

    October 8, 2023

    From Collaboration to Conundrum: Pakistan’s Journey in Space Exploration

    September 14, 2023

    Is the Withdrawal of Rs 2000 Note from Circulation Related to 2024 Elections?

    May 22, 2023

    Ukraine War—Beyond PR Victories

    May 11, 2023

    Prolonged Conflict in the Valley Has Laid Bare the State of the Medical Systems: Dr. Sameer Kaul

    October 10, 2023

    In Iraq’s Arbaeen, a Promise of Resurgence

    September 12, 2023

    SOUL FOOD—the Rich, Labyrinthine History of Community Langar and Foods

    September 7, 2023

    Samanbal—an Artist’s Dream of his Land and People

    August 10, 2023

    Book Review: The Divine Dialect of Flowers

    October 5, 2023

    The Collision That Birthed Religion

    March 18, 2023

    Book Review: What is the Meter of the Dictionary?

    March 2, 2023

    Book Review: A Passionate Affair with Trees

    February 10, 2023

    Prolonged Conflict in the Valley Has Laid Bare the State of the Medical Systems: Dr. Sameer Kaul

    October 10, 2023

    Writer’s Block What!

    October 8, 2023

    Book Review: The Divine Dialect of Flowers

    October 5, 2023

    Tatakooti—Challenges of Owning a Towering Peak

    October 5, 2023
  • J&K

    Tatakooti—Challenges of Owning a Towering Peak

    October 5, 2023

    Interview: ‘Travel, Observing and Tasting is the Best Way to Learn’

    October 2, 2023

    What is Ailing the Apple Farming?

    September 16, 2023

    Photo Feature: Revocation of Muharram Ban

    July 30, 2023

    Photo Essay–Srinagar’s Batte Galli is the Go-To Destination for Clean, Affordable Meal

    May 7, 2023
  • Lifestyle

    Eating Together Binds Families

    November 22, 2022

    How Smartphones are Harming Children

    October 25, 2022

    Raising a Champion

    October 11, 2022

    The Reluctant ‘Urban Poor’

    August 28, 2022

    The Reluctant ‘Urban Poor’

    August 21, 2022
  • Economy

    Explained: What is a Credit Score and Why is it Important?

    December 27, 2022

    Rights of Special Bank Customers

    November 30, 2022

    How to be a Socially Responsible Investor

    November 23, 2022

    Stock Exchange Crimes

    November 16, 2022

    Avoid Debt Trap

    November 8, 2022
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Sports

    Tatakooti—Challenges of Owning a Towering Peak

    October 5, 2023

    When Salim was in the Mood

    July 12, 2023

    Why Does Team India Fail Consistently?

    December 27, 2022

    Hail Ben Stokes and Co.

    December 7, 2022

    England Tour of Pakistan

    November 30, 2022
 Kashmir Newsline – Expression Unleashed Kashmir Newsline – Expression Unleashed
Home»Opinion»The Hindenburg Exposé Lifts the Lid on the 2010 Belekiri Port Scam
Opinion

The Hindenburg Exposé Lifts the Lid on the 2010 Belekiri Port Scam

Kashmir NewslineBy Kashmir NewslineFebruary 21, 2023Updated:February 21, 2023No Comments5 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Belekeri Port | Photo courtesy: karnatakaports.org
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

BJP was in power in Karnataka and was desperately trying to overthrow the Congress-led UPA, which was pursuing the links of the bomb blasts leading to the Hindutva outfits.

by Sanjay Kapoor

On February 20, 2010, the Karnataka Lok Ayukta police raided a tiny non-descript port in Belekiri and seized documents and computers. Later, the police also took control of a large quantity of illegal iron ore at this poorly guarded port. A few months later, the ore was stolen. On the basis of their findings that emerged out of the seized computer and documents, the Karnataka Lok Ayukta Police discovered a scam worth Rs.50,000 crores (amounting to  Rs.100,000 crores today).

It’s an old story, but the people involved are the usual suspects: the port and custom authorities, mining companies that illegally extracted excessive iron ore, transporters and exporters like the Adani group.

This gargantuan mining scam, interestingly, unfolded when the BJP was in power. Though Chief Minister Yeddyurappa and the miners came to grief in this case, the exporters got away – largely scot-free. In fact, Karnataka’s Lok Ayukta, Justice Santosh Hegde, displaying helplessness, had claimed in a media interview that there was little likelihood that any action could be taken on his long fact-filled report. Justice Hegde knew about the powerful and the nexus that cut across party lines and how it had protectors everywhere – politics, police, media and judiciary. Expectedly, when the Congress came to power in Karnataka later, many of those who figured in the FIR were not hauled up. A decade later, neither the banks nor the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), that subsequently loaned colossal funds to one of the accused, Adani, to buy 13 ports and airports, seemingly did due diligence or pay close attention to the damaging mining probe report. It appeared as if Adani had been given immunity by the government so that he could grow to be one of the richest men in the world.

In fact, the busting of the mining scandal in 2010 by the Lok Ayukta police backed by the forest department should have been enough to puncture the ambitions of many of those who figured on the list of the accused, but it did not play out that way. What is more perplexing is that even when the police team had managed to collect smoking gun evidence of criminality against the accused who had been benefiting from the illegal exports, neither the law enforcement agency nor the judiciary booked the guilty.

The Belekeri scam had also revealed in one of the seized computer floppies a long list of pay-offs to cops, district administration and custom authorities. So detailed was this list that it was possible to weave together which company mined the iron ore, which truck of a transport company (with registration numbers) ferried it, the cops and custom officials (with names) that were paid off. The approach that was adopted ensured that all were greased with bribes that traveled up and down the administrative hierarchy to ensure that the illegal cargo moved from the mines to the port uninterrupted and then in bulk carriers to China. To reiterate, all the illegality that drove these businesses was prompted by the insatiable hunger of China for minerals, which had been on a construction spree around the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

It is important to understand the context of the heist that was performed from the iron ore mines of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. At that time, BJP was in power in Karnataka and was desperately trying to throw out the Congress led UPA in Delhi, which was pursuing the links of the bomb explosions leading to the Hindutva outfits. Hence, besides profit making by corporate houses, some of the funds from illegal mining were allegedly used to shore up the fortunes of India against corruption and those opposed to the Congress led UPA. Highly placed sources in Bangalore would tell this reporter that funds for the movement to fight corruption in Delhi in 2010-2013 came from Karnataka. There were, allegedly, meetings between those who had the control of the illegal iron ore funds and the ‘anticorruption’ leaders.

These meetings and what was being planned was brought to the notice of the Manmohan Singh government in Delhi, but bizarrely, it did nothing. It was visible that the Singh administration had lost the will to stay in power. The UPA lost both legitimacy and power, orchestrated with the help of extremely dodgy money.

In the light of the recent exposé of Adani group by Hindenburg Research in its 403-page report that raises damning questions about the absence of regulation in the country, the manner in which a huge quantity of iron ore was stolen and shipped to China provides evidence as well as perspective on how the billionaires were built. What comes out quite clearly is that the funds from the scam were not just meant to make the perpetrators richer, but were also meant to fund a movement to overthrow the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, which they believed was hurting their interests.

If the BJP and the RSS are supporting Adani and draping him in the national flag, their perception, obviously, is very different from the economic analysts and stock market watchers. To keep Adani safe, they are peddling the theory that his group is a victim of the Western machinations. Recent statement of the billionaire businessman George Soros, who criticized Adani and Modi and held out a hope that their diminution would be good for democracy in India, is being presented as a proof of a grand conspiracy of the West against the Modi government.

It is apparent that the last word has not been spoken on the Adani saga. (Courtesy: Probe)

A foreign policy analyst, Sanjay Kapoor is the founding editor of the New Delhi-based Hardnews magazine. He is a member of the Editors Guild of India having also served as its General Secretary.

 

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Kashmir Newsline
  • Website

Related Posts

Writer’s Block What!

October 8, 2023

From Collaboration to Conundrum: Pakistan’s Journey in Space Exploration

September 14, 2023

Is the Withdrawal of Rs 2000 Note from Circulation Related to 2024 Elections?

May 22, 2023

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Posts

Team India’s Next Big Thing

July 6, 202227,462 Views

Why This Alpine Lake Trek Stands Out

July 6, 202225,421 Views

India’s Majoritarian Politics and the Role of Media

July 6, 202224,117 Views

Fragile Media Economies and Lack of Opportunities in Kashmir

July 6, 202223,224 Views
Don't Miss
Top Story

Prolonged Conflict in the Valley Has Laid Bare the State of the Medical Systems: Dr. Sameer Kaul

By Kashmir NewslineOctober 10, 20230

The noted surgical oncologist heads a surgical oncology unit at Apollo Hospital. Jaspreet Kaur Brought…

Writer’s Block What!

October 8, 2023

Book Review: The Divine Dialect of Flowers

October 5, 2023

Tatakooti—Challenges of Owning a Towering Peak

October 5, 2023
Stay In Touch
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Vimeo

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from SmartMag about art & design.

Based out of Srinagar (Jammu & Kashmir) and brought out in print as a weekly with online presence as well, Kashmir Newsline is solely committed to ethical, fearless journalism. We at Kashmir Newsline cover politics, geopolitics, international relations, social issues, health, sports and almost everything else as objectively as humanly possible. Kashmir Newsline carries detailed reports and in-depth analysis on multiple developments happening in Kashmir and around the world.

Facebook X (Twitter)
Our Picks

Prolonged Conflict in the Valley Has Laid Bare the State of the Medical Systems: Dr. Sameer Kaul

October 10, 2023

Writer’s Block What!

October 8, 2023

Book Review: The Divine Dialect of Flowers

October 5, 2023
Most Popular

Team India’s Next Big Thing

July 6, 202227,462 Views

Why This Alpine Lake Trek Stands Out

July 6, 202225,421 Views

India’s Majoritarian Politics and the Role of Media

July 6, 202224,117 Views
Facebook X (Twitter)
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Politics
  • J&K
  • E-Paper
  • Contact Us
© 2023 Kashmir Newsline. Designed by NexG IT Solutions.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Go to mobile version