A CBI court of Delhi sent Anand Subramanian, former Group Operating Officer and advisor to former MD of National Stock Exchange (NSE) to 14-day judicial custody on Wednesday in the NSE Co-location case, news agency ANI reported.
CBI also told the court that a special investigation team (SIT) of almost 30 officers including senior officials is investigating the co-location scam in the Indian stock exchange. Earlier, a CBI court had extended the custody of Subramanian till March 9.
In an earlier development, on Monday, after being arrested on Sunday, Chitra Subramanian was produced in the court. While seeking her remand, CBI told the court that, Chitra was confronted with Anand Subramanian on March 6, before her arrest but she refused to recognise him. At least 2,500 e-mails were exchanged between Chitra and Anand, she still said that she doesn’t know him.
Anand was a close associate of ex-NSE boss Ramkrishna, who was arrested by CBI on Sunday after a special CBI court rejected her anticipatory bail. She was arrested in Delhi and taken for a medical checkup, according to officials, and was later lodged in lockup at the CBI headquarters. The ex-NSE boss is likely to be produced in front of the court later today.
Subramanian was the Chief Strategic Advisor of NSE from April 1, 2013 and was subsequently re-designated as the Group Operating Officer (GOO) and advisor to Ramkrishna during her tenure as the MD and CEO from April 1, 2015 to October 21, 2016.
Subramanian was arrested from Chennai on February 26 after the CBI expanded its probe into the colocation scam at the NSE following “fresh facts” in a SEBI report that referred to a mysterious Himalayan yogi guiding the actions of Ramkrishna.
CBI Counsel on Extended Judicial Custody
Ramkrishna also needs to be confronted with Subramanian to understand the magnitude and scope of the conspiracy, said the CBI counsel.
The CBI said that its probe has revealed that Ramkrishna hired Subramanian as a consultant in NSE without “following due procedure” and by coercing the HR Department of the bourse. He was also delegated with substantial power of management akin to the powers granted to the then CEO & MD, it added.
Besides Ramkrishna and Subramanian, the CBI last month questioned NSE officials including former managing director Ravi Narain.
In a recent order, Sebi penalised the NSE’s former MDs and CEOs, Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain, and others for various violations in a case related to the appointment of Anand Subramanian as GOO and advisor to then MD Ramkrishna.
The ‘Himalayan Yogi’ Angle
The regulator in its order revealed that Ramkrishna was steered by a “yogi” dwelling in the Himalayan ranges in the appointment of Subramanian. Also, she was accused of sharing confidential information, including the bourse’s financial and business plans, dividend scenario, financial results with the yogi, and even consulted the yogi over the performance appraisals of the exchange’s employees.
The “yogi”, according to Ramkrishna, was a “spiritual force that could manifest itself anywhere it wanted and did not have any physical or locational coordinates and largely dwelt in the Himalayan range”.
Besides, the e-mails exchanged between the yogi and Ramkrishna referred that the NSE was planning for a self listing, the order found.
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