Indian police arrest NSE stock exchange’s former head Ramkrishna -source

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India’s federal police on Sunday arrested the former chief executive of the National Stock Exchange of India in a case related to alleged governance lapses at India’s top bourse, a source with direct knowledge told Reuters.

Chitra Ramkrishna was arrested in New Delhi, the source at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said, without sharing further details.

The market regulator penalised Ramkrishna, among others, after an investigation that showed she had sought advice for years from an outsider she described as a Himalayan yogi.

The action is the latest sign the CBI is stepping up its investigation of a 2018 case involving allegations that the NSE provided some high frequency traders unfair access to speed up algorithmic trading. The additional scrutiny risks further delaying a planned NSE listing.

Sunday’s arrest follows a Feb. 11 order by the market regulator that highlighted lapses at the exchange and said Ramkrishna, who quit as CEO in 2016, was “merely a puppet” of someone she described as a yogi.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Aditi ShahEditing by Kevin Liffey and David Goodman)