Madhabi Puri-Buch, the new Sebi chairperson, has sent out a strong signal to unscrupulous operators in the stock markets that she means business.

On Monday, the regulator took an unprecedented action against Ruchi Soya when it permitted retail investors to withdraw the money they had stumped up for shares being sold through a follow-on public offer (FPO). The order did not cover anchor investors.

Puri-Buch, who assumed office just 26 days ago, had vowed to clamp down on sharp practices in the capital markets — and she is proving to be as good as her word.

Ruchi Soya is backed by Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali group which is believed to be close to influential people in the government.

But that doesn’t seem to have counted a jot when the regulator decided to take cognisance of reports of certain “fraudulent” SMS-es that tried to drum up support for the issue with the promise of lucrative gains when the new shares list.

Sebi told the bankers to issue newspaper ads cautioning the investors against the unsolicited SMS texts. The advertisements have to be issued on March 29 and March 30.

Ruchi Soya late Monday night denied the messages have been issued by it or any of its directors, promoters, promoter group or group companies. The company further said that an FIR has been lodged by the company in Haridwar.

However, the rare action may just be the beginning of a no-nonsense three-year tenure of Buch at the market regulator. Ahead of the former banker’s appointment as SEBI chief, experts had said Puri-Buch would have work cut out for her as she attempted to steer the market regulator out of a string of controversies over her predecessor’s inept handling of the NSE co-location case and other governance lapses at the NSE that date back to 2016.

Buch’s predecessor Ajay Tyagi had defended the actions, saying the regulator had tried in its “right earnest” to resolve the matter.

Although the crackdown on Ruchi Soya was welcomed in the social media, many wondered whether such a step can be taken for all such messages. “There are so many messages that circulate in WhatsApp and other media. Whom all will you stop?’’ an analyst who tracks the IPO market said.

Ruchi Soya on Tuesday said it has rescheduled its board meeting on March 31 to fix the issue price of its Rs 4,300 crore FPO (follow-on public offer) in view of markets regulator Sebi’s direction to allow withdrawal of investors’ bids till Wednesday.

“Great news for all beloved members of Patanjali Parivar. A good investment opportunity in Patanjali group. Patanjali group company — Ruchi Soya Industries has opened the FPO for retail investors. The issue closes on 28th March 2022. This is available in the price band of Rs 615-650 per share i.e discount of about 30 per cent to market price. You can apply for shares through your bank/broker/ASBA/UPI in your demat account,’’ the SMS text said.