Burman Family Alleges Vested Interests Blocking Religare Acquisition

The Burman family, promoters of Dabur, have alleged that vested interests are attempting to block their acquisition of a stake in Religare Enterprises. This comes after two senior members of the family were booked in the multi-crore Mahadev app case.

FIR Filed Against Burman Family Members

In a statement, the family said they were shocked by what they termed as an arm-twisting move and denied any involvement in the case. The city police had, on November 7, filed an FIR in the case, naming 32 people, including Dabur's Mohit Burman and Gaurav Burman, as accused. The police said the betting app has defrauded people of Rs 15,000 crore since 2019.

Selective Circulation of FIR

The Burman family statement said that the FIR was being selectively circulated in the media and that both Mohit and Gaurav did not know the accused people mentioned in the case. They further stated that the FIR comes at a time when the Burman Family has sought to increase its existing shareholding of 21.24 percent in Religare Enterprises and launched a legitimate open offer under the SEBI Takeover Code.

Governance Issues at Religare

While pursuing the process, the Burman family brought to the notice of the Board and the regulators certain governance issues being perpetrated by Rashmi Saluja, the current chairman of Religare. The family further said that vested interests are now attempting to stall the deal.

Burman Family's Response

The Burman family called these moves grossly illegal and stressed that they remain resolute to go ahead with the Religare acquisition. They denied receiving any communication regarding the FIR but added that they had sighted the document that had been circulated to media houses. The family also termed the FIR as patently false and baseless.

Enforcement Directorate's Allegations

The Enforcement Directorate had recently said that a promoter of the betting app had paid over Rs 508 crore to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, a charge denied by the Congress leader.

The Burman family's allegations of vested interests attempting to block their acquisition of Religare Enterprises have added a new twist to the ongoing saga. The case is still under investigation, and it remains to be seen how these allegations will impact the outcome.