Jump to content

2013 Kerala solar panel scam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rayabhari (talk | contribs) at 09:43, 8 August 2013 (Moved page from 2013 Solar Panel Scam, for better clarity, as the incident occurred in Kerala, India). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

2013 Kerala Solar Panel Scam involved a fraudulent solar energy company, Team Solar, in Kerala, India, which used two women to create political contacts with links even to the Chief Minister's office, duped several people to the tune of crores of rupees, by offering to install solar power units for them and receiving advance payments for the installation.

Incident

The Team Solar Energy Company, (Team Solar) floated by the main accused Saritha Nair, an actress and Director of the company, collected advance amounts from large number of people and investors in the guise of installing alternate source of energy and failed to deliver the goods. The Company awarded "Virgin Earth Golden Feather Environment Award" to several prominent people of Kerala, to gain media coverage and credibility.[1] The scam came to light when one of the customers who had paid for the installation filed a case against the company. The fraudulent deal has defrauded several agencies and people to the tune of crores of rupees and at least one lady actor was used as "brand ambassador" to lure gullible people.[2] There were widespread protests across the state mainly by Leftist youth groups, after an interview with an industrialist was aired in TV, which alleged fraud by the company.[3] The incident drew high attention because of involvement of three officials from Kerala's Chief Minister office who made several phone calls to main accused Nair and this has highly embarassed Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who faced demand for resignation and two of the officials involved in phone conversation lost their position.[4] The total amount involved in the scam, calculated on the basis of complaints, is less than Rs.10 crores, but due to aggressive protests staged mainly by Leftist political parties of the state and the modus oparandi used by the company has made the scam notorious.[5]

Arrests

Four persons have been arrested in connection with this scam. The chief accused, Saritha Nair[6] and one of the Chief Minister’s personal aides Tenny Joppan[7] has been fired and arrested. The director of the Public Relations Department, who allegedly received Rs 5 lakh from the Team Solar man, has been suspended and has gone underground fearing arrest.[8] Other people accused in the case, who have been arrested include Biju Radhakrishnan,[9] and Malayalam movie/TV actress and danseuse, Shalu Menon.[10]

Biju Radhakrishnan

Biju Radhakrishnan, was already an accused in a case pertaining to the murder of his wife Rashmi. However, despite having evidence of his involvement in the murder, he was not arrested[11] After his arrest, at Coimbatore, by the Kollam Crime Branch CID, he admitted to Rashmi's murder by giving her poisoned liquor.[12]

Saritha Nair

Saritha Nair was a director of the Team Solar Renewable Energy Co. and an accomplice of Biju Radhakrishnan in the Solar Scam. She was arrested on the complaint of one of the persons who she had defrauded, in Ambalapuzha[13] She later requested the Economic Offences court where her case is being heard, that she wanted to give a secret statement,[14] which would help to broaden the scope of the investigation. Her attorney, Fenny Balakrishnan termed the revelations as very crucial and capable of changing the direction of the investigation.

Shalu Menon

Shalu Menon, a close associate of Biju Radhakrishnan, intially denied any knowledge or relationship with Biju Radhakrishnan. Photographs showing the two of them posing together or Biju handing over keys to a new vehicle she had purchased recently were explained away, on TV, as pictures taken at his request.[15] Later, she came under the scanner of the Police and was arrested upon concluding that she was also an accomplice to the scam and had used her popularity to entice customers into parting with their money.

A Firoz

A Firoz, a government servant, surrendered himself on 18 July, after the court rejected his plea for anticipatory bail. He was accused of helping to dupe a builder of 40 Lakh Rupees along with Biju and Saritha, by claiming one of them was an ADB official and they could arrange a contract with the ADB. He was suspended from service after his name surfaced as one of the accomplices of Biju.[16]

Phone Call controversy

At least four Kerala Cabinet ministers, three MLAs and hordes of government officials besides a junior Central Minister had been roped in by the women and their phone calls.[17][18]

Allegations against the Chief Minister

Allegations against the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy have been raised, due to phone calls made by his personal staff and forged letters[19] which were used by the fraudsters to defraud customers. The issue snowballed when Sridharan Nair, a quarry owner, claimed that he had met the Chief Minister, at his office, along with Saritha Nair, during which the Chief Minister encouraged investments in renewable energy.[20] The Chief Minister refuted these claims on the floor of the Assembly, stating that the only time he met Sridharan Nair was as a representative of Quarry owners.[21] The allegations are being used by the opposition LDF as a reason to stall the proceedings of the Kerala Legislative Assembly[22] and demand the resignation of the Kerala Chief Minister.

References

  1. ^ "Solar panel scam: Saritha makes statement in court". The Hindu. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  2. ^ PTI (12 July 2013). "Name of another starlet crops up in solar panel scam Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/name-of-another-starlet-crops-up-in-solar-panel-scam/1/290943.html". India Today. Retrieved 25 July 2013. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  3. ^ "Kerala boils over solar panel scam". Deccan Herald. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Solar panel scam: Demand for Kerala CM's resignation gathers momentum". Business Standard. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Solar scam eclipses a sunshine industry". Business LIne. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 25 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Solar panel cheating: Sarita S Nair under judicial custody". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  7. ^ "Solar panel scam: Tenny Joppen remanded to judicial custody". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  8. ^ "Shalu Menon in Police custody". The Indian Reader. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Solar scandal: Biju Radhakrishnan arrested". Madhyamam. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Actress Shalu Menon arrested". oneindia.in. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  11. ^ "Biju Radhakrishnan walked free despite evidence". Times of India. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  12. ^ "Biju admits to killing his wife Reshmi". Mathrubhumi. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  13. ^ "Saritha Nair in police custody". The Hindu. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  14. ^ "Saritha makes secret statement". Deccan Chronicle. 21-July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  15. ^ "Shalu Menon denies involvement in solar scam". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  16. ^ "Former PRD director Firoz surrenders after HC rejects his plea". Manorama Online.
  17. ^ "Solar Scam: ADGP seeks explanation on leakage of phone calls details". Kerala Next. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  18. ^ "Action against IG T J Jose for leaking phone details". Kerala Kaumudi. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  19. ^ "Scam-accused had forged Kerala CM's letterhead: Aide". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  20. ^ "Solar scam: Sreedharan Nair reveals he and Saritha met CM". The Week. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  21. ^ "Solar eclipse threat to CM - Kerala crisis deepens". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  22. ^ "Kerala assembly stalled again over Solar case". Oman Tribune. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2013_Kerala_solar_panel_scam&oldid=567656252"