Mumbai, September 16 (Daily Kiran) : The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) announced on Wednesday that it has uncovered an alleged cross-segment market manipulation case involving stock futures and options. The regulatory body has frozen ₹28.12 crore in suspected illicit gains and imposed trading restrictions on two firms and four individuals involved in derivatives trading.
In an interim order issued by SEBI’s full-time member Kamlesh Chandra Varshney, the entities involved—Prasaar Sampada Private Limited and Chaubara Eats Private Limited—along with individuals Ved Prakash Gupta, Preeti Gupta, Saroj Gupta, and Gaurav Tomar, have been directed to deposit the frozen amount in a fixed deposit until further investigation concludes.
The six parties have also been barred from accessing the securities market. However, once the specified amount is deposited, they will be allowed to participate in the cash segment but will remain prohibited from trading in equity derivatives.
This investigation was triggered by alerts from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and SEBI’s surveillance system, which noted unusual trading activities. The inquiry revealed that Prasaar Sampada had made significant profits in stock options on shares in which it had reported losses in stock futures.
The registered stockbroker and depository participant Prasaar ceased these activities in its proprietary accounts following communications from the NSE in February and March 2026. Subsequent investigations uncovered similar trading patterns in the accounts of Chaubara Eats.
According to the interim order, the involved entities allegedly focused on relatively smaller and less liquid stocks, specifically those among the bottom 100 by market capitalization of the approximately 211 stocks eligible for derivatives trading on the NSE.
SEBI alleges that this strategy began with placing large near-the-money options orders at prices both above and below market value, which were reportedly left unexecuted in the order book. Subsequently, the entities alternated between acting as net buyers and net sellers in stock futures at different times throughout the trading day.
The investigation has indicated that options orders and futures positions were combined across different market segments. SEBI is currently examining whether this trading pattern was intended to influence the prices of underlying stocks or market conditions, and to generate profits through derivatives positions.
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