Kozhikode: Solar scam accused Saritha S Nair has been awarded 6 years of jail term and a penalty of Rs 30,000 in connection with the case. The quantum of punishment was announced by the Kozhikode Magistrate Court on Tuesday.

As per the case, Saritha had swindled huge amount of money from different people offering to install solar panels. The case was registered at Kozhikode Kasaba police station. Abdul Majeed, the  complainant, alleged that Saritha swindled over Rs 42 lakh from him. She is second accuse din the case.

The court was about to pronounce the verdict in the case last month. But Saritha didn’t appear before the court. Warrant exists against Saritha at courts in Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Kozhikode in solar scam case.

Police had faced severe criticism over delaying Saritha’s arrest even after courts issued multiple warrants against her and she was named accused in the job fraud case. Following this, the police arrested her from Thiruvananthapuram last week.

The prosecution demanded that Saritha should be awarded life sentence. The court also found that criminal conspiracy also took place in connection with the case. But Saritha claimed in the court that she was innocent and that Biju Radhakrishnan cheated her. But the court did not take this into consideration.

  SARITHA NAIR