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Crime-Justice

Solar scam accused Saritha Nair sent to jail for 6 yrs in cheating case

IANS | April 27, 2021 06:22 PM

KOZHIKODE: A court here on Tuesday sentenced solar scam accused Saritha Nair to six years' rigorous imprisonment besides slapping a fine of Rs 40, 000 on her in a cheating case in which she took money from a person but failed to deliver solar panels to him.

Saritha had taken an amount to the tune of Rs 42.75 lakh in 2012 from one Abdul Majeed, promising to supply solar panels to him, but she failed to keep her promise.

Incidentally, Saritha was ducking the Kozhikode Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court, and despite a few warrants issued against her, she failed to appear before the court.

Last week, the police from Kozhikode took Nair into custody from state capital Thiruvananthapuram and produced her before the court later in the day, which remanded her to judicial custody.

The counsel for the complainant told the media after the verdict that she is the second accused and the first accused -- R.B. Nair -- did not appear before the court as he is under quarantine, while the third accused in the case was let off on Tuesday.

Saritha can take credit for bringing down the Oommen Chandy-led UDF government (2011-16) on account of the scams involving her and a few office-bearers under Chandy's rule, which the Left used widely in their election campaign in 2016.

The case in which she has been arrested was registered during the tenure of the Chandy government and according to reports, there are around half-a-dozen similar cheating cases registered against her at various police stations in Kerala, dating back to 2012.

While Saritha was in judicial custody since last week, police officers from Neyyattinkara reached here and registered her arrest in an alleged fake appointment racket case, in which her partner has already been arrested.

In the fake appointment case, last year, money was collected from various people by promising them jobs at the state-run Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco). A petitioner who gave money and failed to get the promised job approached the Neyattinkara police, which registered the case.

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