Mistry knows where all the bodies are buried in Tata Group: Kumar

Ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry knows where “all the bodies are buried in Tata Group”, his close aide and member of the now-disbanded Group Executive Council (GEC) Nirmalya Kumar (pictured) said on Wednesday.

Kumar, who was dismissed from the company within hours of Mistry being unceremoniously ousted as chairman of Tata Group on October 24, said there were no skeletons in Mistry’s cupboard.

“Cyrus Mistry, from what I have known him in three years,  is impeccable in his character, which means he will not do something wrong. See there are no skeletons in his cupboard but he knows where all the bodies are buried in Tata Group. So, we are at the start of this process, not the end of it,” Kumar told CNBC-TV18.

Kumar, who has also quit as director of Tata Chemicals, said the battle had just begun.

He said Mistry was removed without any explanation and any due process.

“Cyrus was fired, he was forced without an explanation and without following any due process, it’s a public execution and a humiliating process. Once you publicly execute and humiliate a person, you should expect some retaliation from other side,” Kumar said.

He said the other party “mistook” Mistry’s shy confidence and inner strength as weakness and added, “So, of course, if you publicly humiliate a person, he is going to fight back.”

He added all the strategies were jointly decided by the board of Tata Sons and GEC, unlike the allegations, never acted as a super board.

“Tata Sons board not only approved what we were doing in terms of the strategy document, (but) also approved the budget every year which funded the group,” he said reiterating that GEC did not report to the Tata Trusts.