Court cancels bail of two key accused in Solar panel case

A court here on Thursday cancelled the bail granted to two key accused in the multi-crore solar panel scam-- Saritha S Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan, after they failed to appear citing health reasons.

The court ordered them to be present onFebruary25 when the judgment would be delivered. If they fail to appear, the two should be arrested and produced in court, Judicial First Class Magistrate Nimmi KK said in her order.

The court was to deliver the judgment on Thursday. However, since the accused did not turn up, the pronouncement had to be postponed.

As per the complaint filed by Kozhikode native Abdul Majeed with the Kasaba police in 2012, the two accused had taken Rs 42.70 lakh from him for providing franchise in their company besides installing solar panels in his office and house.

But neither the contract was executed nor the money refunded, the complainant stated. Biju Radhakrishanan and Saritha are the first and second accused respectively in the case, trial of which began on January 25, 2018.

As many as 36 witnesses were examined during the trial that concluded in October 2018. B Mani Menon, who forged fake documents, is the third accused in the case.

Saritha and her accomplice Biju Radhakrishnan had cheated many people of crores of rupees promising to instal solar panels and offering franchise and jobs in their company, Team Solar Renewable Energy Solutions Company.