Chennai: Ramar Pillai, who had a decade ago created quite a stir in Tamil Nadu with his claims of creating herbal fuel, has been sentenced to undergo three years rigorous imprisonment for cheating the public.
Besides Pillai, four others - R. Venudevi, S. Chinnasamy, R. Rajasegaran and S.K. Bharat - were also sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate on Thursday.
The magistrate directed them to pay a fine of Rs30,000 (Rs6,000 each) in the cheating case, which was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
According to the prosecution, Pillai in 1999-2000 conspired with other individuals “to do an illegal act - mixing petroleum products like toluene, naphtha, etc., and to market it in the name of Ramar Petrol, or Ramar Tamildevi Mooligai Eriporul, as if it were extracted from herbs”. The same was intended to be fraudulently used as “automobile fuel from herbs”, which quite naturally did not meet the ISI standards.
The CBI said the so-called herbal fuel was only a mixture of petroleum products, which also violated the Motor Spirit Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply and Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order.
“Ramar Pillai misrepresented the facts and sold the same as herbal fuel to the public through various sales outlets, whom he cheated by collecting huge amounts of deposits and fuel costs. Thus Ramar Pillai and his associates gained Rs2.27 crore for themselves, by cheating the public,” CBI said.
Besides Pillai, four others - R. Venudevi, S. Chinnasamy, R. Rajasegaran and S.K. Bharat - were also sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate on Thursday.
The magistrate directed them to pay a fine of Rs30,000 (Rs6,000 each) in the cheating case, which was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
According to the prosecution, Pillai in 1999-2000 conspired with other individuals “to do an illegal act - mixing petroleum products like toluene, naphtha, etc., and to market it in the name of Ramar Petrol, or Ramar Tamildevi Mooligai Eriporul, as if it were extracted from herbs”. The same was intended to be fraudulently used as “automobile fuel from herbs”, which quite naturally did not meet the ISI standards.
The CBI said the so-called herbal fuel was only a mixture of petroleum products, which also violated the Motor Spirit Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply and Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order.
“Ramar Pillai misrepresented the facts and sold the same as herbal fuel to the public through various sales outlets, whom he cheated by collecting huge amounts of deposits and fuel costs. Thus Ramar Pillai and his associates gained Rs2.27 crore for themselves, by cheating the public,” CBI said.