CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Sunday demanded a Supreme Court-supervised probe into the allegations levelled by US short-seller Hindenburg Research against the Adani group.

“A high-level inquiry is absolutely essential... which should be monitored on a day-to-day basis by the Supreme Court of India. And till this inquiry is completed and the truth is known, we have to ensure that the interest of India has been protected,” Yechury told a news conference in Calcutta on the sidelines of the party’s central committee meeting, which began on Saturday.

In a recent report, Hindenburg Research had accused the Adani group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. The report led to a sharp decline in the prices of the shares of the 10 listed Adani group companies.

The Adani group has contested the contents of the report but Yechury underscored that he was worried about the impact of the report on the common people.

“In the last two days, their (the Adani group’s) valuation has dropped by nearly $50 billion. Now, if their valuation drops in this manner, it is people’s money that is invested in companies like SBI and LIC... they are going to be the losers,” Yechury said.

According to him, financial regulators such as Sebi and the RBI must probe the involvement of LIC and SBI, and a separate inquiry must be ordered to see if a larger conspiracy was under way.

He added that the truth could be unearthed only if it was investigated where the money generated through the allegedly fraudulent methods was going.

Yechury hinted at a link with the purchase of electoral bonds. “This government will not make the electoral bonds transparent. You tell the country who were the ones who bought these bonds and who are the ones who have given them to the ruling party. More than 80 per cent of the electoral bond funding has gone to the ruling BJP,” he said.

He said that as the Adani group controls several ports, airports and other infrastructure projects in the country, any downfall would hurt the Indian economy.