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Manu Chhabria here to meet kin

Boby Kurian

BANGALORE, July 30

MR Manohar Rajaram Chhabria, Chairman of the Dubai-based Jumbo Group with diversified business interests in India, arrived in Mumbai today. Mr Chhabria is on a personal visit to meet his ailing parents and is likely to be in the country for the next two days.

Mr. Chhabria returns to India after five years. When contacted, Jumbo Group's spokesperson confirmed Mr Chhabria's presence in Mumbai. Mr Chhabria's visit assumes significance as he left this country in the wake of legal cases. However, sources close to Mr Chhabria said that there were no pending cases pending against him.

He is also likely to meet his younger brother, Mr Kishore Chhabria, during his stay in Mumbai. The two brothers parted ways in 1991 but now have sorted out major differences. The reconciled Chhabria brothers will have a major impact on the Indian alcohol ic beverage industry, especially on arch rival, UB Group's Mr Vijay Mallya.

The Rs 7,500-crore Jumbo Group has controlling stake in Indian companies such as Shaw Wallace & Co (SWC), Dunlop India Ltd, Mather & Platt, Hindustan Dorr Oliver, Falcon Tyres Ltd and Gordon Woodroffe. Most of these companies have recently bounced back a fter a lean phase. However, Dunlop faces an uncertain future and remains a sore thumb.

It is learnt that the 55-year-old M R Chhabria, known as Manu to his close friends, will probably meet the heads of the Jumbo Group companies on Wednesday. He is also tipped to visit Tirupati on Tuesday. Mr Chhabria, who hails from Mumbai, set up the Jum bo Group in 1974 and later exploded on the Indian corporate scene with a string of takeovers in the early 80s.