'Very concerned about Lava chief Rai's arrest'

The arrest of a top Lava International Ltd executive is concerning given the phonemaker's position as a leading Indian brand in the growing smartphone industry, Union minister of state for information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.

- Shouvik Das

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Hari Om Rai, co-founder, chairman and managing director of Lava, as well as three officials linked to China's Vivo over money-laundering charges.

"We are obviously very concerned about it. We do not know all the facts, but Lava as a company has been an Indian champion in the important and growing smartphone segment, where India is now becoming one of the world's largest producers of smartphones. As a brand, we hold Lava to be a very important participant in the smartphone ecosystem, and while I do not know all the facts of it, I hope this is rapidly looked into, and that the right thing is done by Lava and Rai," Chandrasekhar said on the sidelines of an event.