NSE Co-location Scam: CBI Files Chargesheet Against Ex-CEO Chitra Ramkrishna, Ex-Mumbai Police Chief

The case pertains to alleged tapping of phones of executives of the stock market. Ramkrishna supervised the illegal activity for nearly 12 years with the help of other accused NSE executives.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet before a special court against former National Stock Exchange (NSE) CEO Chitra Ramkrishna, former Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Pandey and other top executives of the exchange in connection with the co-location scam case.

In its chargesheet, the CBI has alleged that NSE had paid Rs 4.54 crore in eight years to ISEC Services Pvt Ltd, where Pandey was a director, for carrying out illegal interception of phones at the bourse employees in the name of cyber vulnerability study, PTI reported.

Among those named in the chargesheet are Sanjay Pandey, two former executives of ISEC Services Pvt Ltd, former top executives of NSE, including managing director Ravi Narain, deputy managing director Ramkrishna, executive vice president Ravi Varanasi, head (premises) Mahesh Haldipur, group operating officer Anand Subramanian, officer on special duty SB Thosar, and manager (premises) Bhupesh Mistry.

CBI registered the case in July this year. It was alleged that unauthorised recording and monitoring of personal call lines in NSE started in 1997 when then MD Ravi Narain and then DMD/MD Chitra Ramkrishna connected call lines of NSE employees to a Digital Voice Recorder provided by a private company. 

From 1997 to 2009, Ramkrishna, with the help of NSE employees, allegedly supervised the interception. In 2009, the work for monitoring calls was given to ISEC Services, where Pandey was a director. Phone tapping was done in the name of “conducting periodic study of Cyber Vulnerabilities,” the agency said. 

In 2012, ISEC Services purchased and installed 4 X PRI Quad Span Digital Voice Logger in the basement of NSE capable of recording 120 calls simultaneously. ISEC employees were given unauthorised access to NSE premises in a manner to listen to these calls and submit weekly reports to NSE then Executive Vice President and then the Head (Premises). The reports were being shown on regular basis to Ravi Narain and Ramkrishna, the agency said. 

CBI has accused them under charges of criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, criminal breach of trust, provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, and Prevention of Corruption Act.

During the investigation, CBI found that Sanjay Pandey was allegedly managing the affairs of ISEC Services. The NSE paid Rs 4.54 crore (approx.) in 8 years to said ISEC Services for carrying out such illegal interception of NSE employees in the name of cyber vulnerability study.