MUMBAI: India’s benchmark equity indexes fell on Thursday, dragged down by a plunge in Adani Group company stocks after US authorities indicted Gautam Adani, the conglomerate’s chairman, over his alleged role in a $265 million bribery scheme.

The NSE Nifty 50 lost 0.72% to 23,349.9, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.54% to 77,155.79.

US authorities said Gautam Adani and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to bribe Indian government officials to win contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years, and develop India’s largest solar power plant project.

Adani Group called the allegations “baseless”, adding that it would seek “all possible legal recourse”.

Shares of Adani Enterprises, the group’s flagship company, sank 22.61% while Adani Ports lost 13.57%. They were the top drags in the Nifty.

All the other eight group stocks declined between 0.6% and 20%, with the group companies losing about $27 billion in combined market value during the session.