Arrest warrant issued against solar scam accused Saritha Nair

Kochi: The one-member panel probing the "solar scam" on Thursday issued an arrest warrant against Saritha Nair, a key accused in the fraud that has shaken political circles in Kerala.

The G. Sivarajan Commission probing the scam asked the police to present Nair before it on June 27.

The commission was irked after Saritha's counsel appeared on her behalf to seek more time for her appearance as she was unwell and had to undergo a surgery on her hand.

The commission observed that she has been purposely keeping away as she did not turn up on three previous occasions as asked.

She had made numerous allegations against top Congress leaders, including erstwhile Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, a few of his cabinet colleagues and legislators, and told the commission that she had substantive evidence to prove her allegations.

Ahead of the April 16 assembly polls, Nair made sure that she came for every sitting and gave enough news to the media and had become a headache for Chandy and the United Democratic Front (UDF) during the election. But she has no longer been keeping her date with the Commission since the election results were announced.

The so-called solar scam case surfaced when Nair and her live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan were arrested in 2013 on charges of cheating numerous investors who paid money for solar panels.

Over 30 cases of cheating are registered in various courts against Nair and Radhakrishnan. Police estimate that the duo cheated investors to the tune of over Rs 6 crore.

While Nair is out on bail, Radhakrishnan is in jail on charges of murdering his first wife.