Chitra Ramkrishna had shared confidential information with an outsider she called ‘Himalaya Yogi’
New Delhi:
Former National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chief Executive Chitra Ramkrishna, accused of serious misconduct in India’s largest stock market, including sharing confidential information with a person she called a “Himalaya yogi”, has been arrested by the CBI.
The arrest came just a day after a Delhi court rejected her request for bail prior to the arrest and sued the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI for inaction and “laxity” in the investigation against her over the past four years.
Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal also noted that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) market regulator has been “too nice” to the accused, faced serious charges and that her continued questioning would be necessary to uncover the truth. to get.
Last month, the mysterious “Himalaya yogi” who allegedly influenced Ms. Ramkrishna’s decisions was brought out as Anand Subramanian, also a former stock exchange officer arrested in a market manipulation case.
His controversial appointment was one of the decisions Chitra Ramkrishna made under the influence of the so-called yogis, SEBI said in a report.
SEBI has accused Ms. Ramkrishna, who was the MD and CEO of the NSE from April 2013 to December 2016, and others of alleged managerial errors in the appointment of Mr. Subramanian and his excessive promotion.
It has said that NSE and its board were aware of the interactions with the controversial advisor but had chosen to “keep the matter a secret”.
The CBI, meanwhile, is investigating allegations of inappropriate dissemination of information from the market exchange’s computer servers to stock brokers in what has come to be known as the “co-location scam”.
The agency had questioned her for four days last month in the case filed in 2018, which represents an unfair advantage in trading for some brokers.
“During the interrogation, Ramakrishna gave evasive answers claiming to have no knowledge of the co-location server and shifting responsibility to Muralidharan Natarajan, then CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of NSETECH,” sources told DailyExpertNews.
Chitra Ramakrishna will be produced along with Anand Subramanian in the CBI court in the national capital on Monday. The agency plans to interrogate them both together and suspect they introduced the nonexistent “Yogi” to mislead the investigation.
Because confidential information from the NSE has been shared with outsiders, the agency is also trying to find those who have benefited from it.
Responding to public criticism of the controversies, the NSE said it is “committed to the highest standards of governance and transparency”, and described the issue as “nearly six to nine years old”.
