Four ECL Finance officials depose before Khalapur police

Navi Mumbai: Following the notice sent on August 5 by the Raigad police to the MDs of ECL Finance and the Edelweiss Group, seeking information on certain aspects of the late art director Nitin Desai’s dealings with them, one of the two managing directors, along with three employees, visited Khalapur police station on Tuesday morning.

Raigad superintendent of police Somnath Gharge confirmed that Phanindranath Kakarla, MD of ECL Finance Ltd of the Edelweiss group, was present at the police station today along with three legal assistants.

The police, while sending the August 5 notice, had mentioned that the MDs had to provide the documents and reach the police station latest by August 8, 10 am. Consequently, on Tuesday, the four officials from ECL finance were interrogated for eight hours regarding the loan that Desai had procured from their company. The police sought detailed information on the procedure followed to grant the loan as well as the procedure that was followed to recover it. They also sought all the details of the case that were with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

“The officials produced various documents pertaining to the loan that Desai had taken, and we have studied them,” said Atul Zende, additional superintendent of police, Raigad. “During the process of investigation, we asked for some more documents, which they have been told to bring by 10 am on August 11.” The police, however, refused to divulge what kind of additional information had been sought.

Meanwhile, Rashesh Shah, chairman of Edelweiss Financial Services and Raj Kumar Bansal, MD and CEO of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company Limited, have approached the Bombay high court seeking to quash the FIR filed against them for allegedly abetting Desai’s suicide. Pending the hearing of their plea, the two have also sought interim relief of ‘no coercive action’ and prayed that the probe be stayed until the hearing.