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After a break of around three months, the AskMe – Astro clash which resulted in the shutdown of the Gurugram-based consumer Internet firm, has once again gained momentum. Now, in the form of an anticipatory bail appeal from one of the former Astro nominee on AskMe board – Ashok Rajagopal.
For those who have forgotten this highly disputed matter – in August 2015, AskMeBazaar, a venture of Getit Infomedia services, shut down its operations amidst severe cash crunch, alleged to the unplanned exit of Astro Holdings, its principal investor.
Things got worse after the company’s major investors Helion Ventures and Astro held back their interests towards further funding. The Astro back out from a supposed MBO (Management Buyout) scheduled at the end of July this year just added to the downslide. The shutdown, furthermore, left more than 4,000 employees, vendors, and other creditors at AskMe and the investors, in a state of panic.
While some threatened the company with a suicide note, some opted for a legal route to get their money back. There was even talk of Rajya Sabha member and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy involving the government in bailing out the company in order to pay the beleaguered employees and vendors.
One such vendor, My Limo Trading Company, led by brothers Mukesh Kumar and Rahul Kumar, sent legal notices to the former directors of Getit Infoservices – Ashok Rajagopal, Sandeep Vats, and Prakash Mishra.
My Limo alleged that Getit has not paid them despite receiving payments from the buyers and owed $219K (INR 1.5 Cr) to the company. However, Rajgopal has disputed this claim and appealed that he is a former non-executive director of Getit and had played no role in the day-to-day affairs of the company.
The other two directors have not commented on the notice yet. The court will consider Rajagopal’s bail application on December 6.
The development was first reported by VCCircle.
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