Shares of Ansal firms fall as brothers in custody

Shares of Ansal firms fall as brothers in custody
11 Sep, 2008, 1720 hrs IST, IANS
NEW DELHI: As brothers Sushil and Gopal Ansal were taken into custody here on Thursday for what is known as the capital's Uphaar cinema fire tragedy case, the shares of their respective listed companies fell on the bourses.

The Ansals, a well known name in the realty industry, mainly in New Delhi and satellite towns, have three listed companies. Of these, Sushil controls Ansal Properties and Infrastructure, while his younger brother Gopal oversees Ansal Buildwell.
The third listed company in their family - Ansal Housing and Construction - is led by their youngest sibling Deepak.

A special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sent Sushil and Gopal Ansal to judicial custody till their bail appeal is heard on their conviction for lapses that led to the June 1997 Uphaar cinema fire tragedy.
Fifty-nine people, including 22 children, had died and over 100 were injured in the fire at the cinema hall in south Delhi.

The original Ansals properties group was founded by their father Chiranji Lal in 1967 but has since been split into three separate companies. Insiders say that the Uphaar Cinema tragedy of 1997 led to the three-way split in the group.

Ansal Properties and Infrastructure is the largest among the three companies with Rs.100 billion worth of projects at hand and a declared land asset of 7,000 acres.

The company has under its wings some well know projects like Ansal Plaza, among the capital's first mall, and townships like Sushant Lok and Pioneer industrial park.

Ansal Buildwell, on the other hand, has a comparatively lower profile, with projects like the Akashdeep Building in the capital's central business district, Ansal City in Amritsar in Punjab, and Ansals Riverdale in Kochi.

Data with the BSE showed that Ansal Properties fell 6.35 percent Thursday at Rs.93.60. The scrip had seen a 52-week high of Rs.469.

Ansal Buildwell, on the other hand fell 4.84 percent at Rs.44.20. The scrip saw a 52-week high of Rs.147.

"Even though both the companies are managed by family members of the Ansal brothers, the court directive does cause some worry over their future management," said an analyst, giving the reasons for the fall in the Ansal group scrips.

via:E.T