NSE fraud: Anticipatory bail plea of Chitra Ramakrishna dismissed

A Special CBI court in Delhi on Saturday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Chitra Ramakrishna, the former CEO-MD of National Stock Exchange (NSE), in connection with a fraud case.

Ramakrishna, through her counsel, had approached the court seeking relief from her arrest.

Her plea was opposed by the prosecution. After hearing the argument of defense and the prosecution, the court dismissed the plea.

On February 24, the CBI arrested Anand Subramanian, the ex-Group Operating Officer of NSE. He was later sent to CBI's custody till March 6.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the NSE fraud has been making efforts to find fresh clues to reach the mysterious Himalayan Yogi, with whom the classified informations were shared by Ramakrishna.

It was learnt in the forensic report of Ernst & Young (E&Y) that Subramanian could be the mysterious Yogi. The SEBI had, on February 11, denied it.

The CBI is trying to corroborate the evidence it collected with the questioning of Subramanian.

It is probing the matter since May 2018 but has failed to find any concrete evidence to identify the mysterious Himalayan Yogi.

Recently, the SEBI had imposed a fine of Rs 3 crore on Ramakrishna, following the market regulator finding that she allegedly shared vital inputs about the NSE with the yogi. "Information regarding organisational structure, dividend scenario, financial results, human resource policies and related issues, response to regulator, etc., were shared by her with the yogi," said the source. Between 2014 and 2016 she sent emails at rigyajursama@outlook.com.

On April 1, 2013, Ramakrishna became the CEO and MD of NSE. She brought Subramanian to NSE as her advisor in 2013.

Subramanian was made the Chief Strategic Advisor of NSE. He served at this post between 2013 and 2015 before being made Group Operations Officer and Advisor to the MD between 2015 and 2016, despite having no exposure to the capital market.

Previously working as a mid-level manager in Balmer and Lawrie, he had seen his salary increased from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 1.68 crore annually, and then to Rs 4.21 crore.

Subramanian quit NSE in October 2016 and Ramakrishna in December 2016. The CBI swung into action in the case in 2018 and has been probing the matter since then.