NSE co-location scam: FIR against Chitra, Ravi Narain, Sanjay Pandey over phone-tapping

Chitra Ramkrishna

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a fresh case against former National Stock Exchange (NSE) chiefs Chitra Ramkrishna, Ravi Narain, and ex-Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Pandey, on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), for allegedly tapping phones of NSE employees between 2009 and 2017.

The investigation agency has also mentioned other charges in the fresh report.

Sources have informed Network18 that searches are underway at the premises of ex-police commissioner Sanjay Pandey at multiple locations across India.

The FIR mentions that the three accused had illegally been tapping phone calls of NSE employees between 2009 to 2017. Sanjay Pandey's company was roped in by Chitra and Narain for this illegal surveillance.

Last month, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) found 18 entities, including former National Stock Exchange chief executive officer Chitra Ramakrishna, NSE COO Anand Subramanian, and the NSE, guilty of collusion in the 2015 dark-fibre case.

The capital market regulator imposed a cumulative penalty of Rs 43.8 crore on the 18 entities, with the NSE alone slapped a Rs 7-crore fine. NSE’s Chief Business Development Officer Ravi Varanasi has been fined Rs 5 crore, while Ramakrishna has been handed a penalty of Rs 5 crore.