The government has replaced SK Roy as chairman of state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India with Managing Director VK Sharma The change was announced late on Friday. The finance ministry is said to have initiated a departmental enquiry against Roy, allegedly over investments made by LIC in real estate firm Unitech in 2008-09. Roy had already submitted his request for voluntary retirement from the country's largest insurer. "An enquiry has been initiated and a response has been sought from Roy," said an official with knowledge of the development. Roy, who has 10 days to respond, is exploring legal options, other people said. There was no response to questions on the matter emailed to the finance ministry spokesperson and LIC. Calls to Roy on his mobile phone went unanswered. Unitech couldn't be immediately reached. According to the official cited above, the case pertains to defaults on debt and securities worth Rs 750 crore. "There was a Rs 200-crore loan and Rs 550-crore investment through subscription of non-convertible debentures of the company," said the official. "Roy did not take action despite the fact that more than 70 cheques presented by Unitech had bounced.
