India, July 2 -- Markets regulator Sebi has barred 221 entities, including individual investor Hanif Shekh, from the securities market for up to seven years and levied a fine of Rs 10 crore for orchestrating a large-scale pump-and-dump operation in five stocks between 2017 and 2020.

Mauria Udyog Ltd, 7NR Retail, Darjeeling Ropeway Company, GBL Industries, and Vishal Fabrics Ltd were the scrips manipulated by Shekh - the alleged mastermind in the case - and his conduit entities, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in the order passed on Tuesday. In its 394-page final order, Sebi found that Shekh hatched a fraudulent scheme which entailed participation by over 200 seemingly disparate but intricately connected entities as...