'I was the person who had broken the story': Sucheta Dalal on being questioned in colocation scam

Journalist Sucheta Dalal, whose statement was recorded on Saturday in connection with the colocation scam, has said she was summoned because she was "the person who had broken the story in June 2015". The case is being investigated by the CBI.

In a detailed statement published on social media, Dalal, who is the managing editor of Moneylife magazine, said she had issued the statement "since one media house has written to ask me questions about the meeting with the CBI".

"I am intrigued that questions are being raised by the media about the journalist who actually broke multiple scams over the years, including the colocation scam," she said.

The National Stock Exchange colocation scam pertains to the alleged "manipulation" of the market of the stock exchange. It all began in 2015 when a whistleblower, who went by the name "Ken Fong", first complained to the Securities and Exchange Board of India about irregularities at the NSE.

When Dalal had reported on this in 2015, the NSE slapped a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against Moneylife. NSE later withdrew the suit.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India initiated an investigation. Several top officials were alleged to be involved, including former NSE MD Chitra Ramkrishna. In connection with the scam, the CBI is also investigating allegations that the phones of NSE employees were "illegally tapped".

In her statement, Dalal said "most of the questions" she was asked were about "Ken Fong".

"I was asked if I knew who Ken Fong was. I do not know who he is and I said so emphatically. I was also asked about the process which we followed before writing the article and the decision to publish it. And whether I had asked to visit the NSE before writing the article," she said. "I pointed out that colocation trading happens in highly sophisticated computers and there would be nothing for me to see from the outside."

The statement added, "The decision to publish it was entirely mine after following the usual journalistic process of trying to verify the truth."