Ex-NSE chief Ravi Narain questioned after Chitra Ramkrishna

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), after grilling former MD and CEO of National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chitra Ramkrishna, questioned another former chief of the exchange, Ravi Narain, in connection with the co-location case. 

Sources told India Today the former CEO was questioned for several hours by federal investigators. The agency also denied reports that Narain is in London. 

A lookout circular has been issued against Chitra Ramkrishna, along with former Group Operating Officer Anand Subramaniam, and Ravi Narain. 

Ramkrishna is under investigation for allegedly sharing sensitive information about the exchange with a ‘yogi who lives in the Himalayas’. The CBI in a statement mentioned that the alleged unfair practices occurred between 2010 and 2015. Narain was the NSE MD and CEO till March 2013. Ramkrishna was the Deputy CEO at the time, following which she succeeded Narain and headed NSE till 2016. 

The CBI probe was initiated after the recent findings of the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI).

The SEBI order on February 11 stated that it came across certain documentary evidence that showed that Ramkrishna had shared internal information including  organisational structure, dividend scenario, financial results, human resources policy, and related issues, response to regulator, etc of NSE with an ‘unknown person’ through emails in the period from 2014 to 2016. 

The case is against a stockbroker who manipulated NSE’s system with help from then-top officials to get access before anyone else to markets when they opened. Sanjay Gupta (promoter of OPG Security Pvt Ltd), Aman Kokrady, his brother-in-law, and data cruncher and researcher Ajay Shah have been named by CBI as accused in the case, along with unknown officials of the NSE and SEBI.

Co-location is a setup in which the broker's computer is placed in the same area where the stock exchange's server is located. This gives brokers a speed advantage in comparison to other brokers. The broker whose computer is placed in NSE’s server room gets access to market feed before other brokers, allowing them to make huge financial gains through stock trading.

(With inputs from Munish Pandey)

Also read: Chitra Ramkrishna case: I-T conducts searches at premises linked to NSE's ex-MD

Also read: Chitra Ramkrishna case: CBI questions ex-NSE chief in light of fresh developments