Lakshadweep Tuna fish scam: CBI books NCP MP Mohammed Faizal, his nephew
New Delhi, Jul 12: The CBI has booked Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal under corruption charges for alleged irregularities in the export of Tuna fish to a Sri Lankan company represented by his nephew, officials said Tuesday.
The NCP MP's nephew Abdul Razik Thangal and the Colombo-based company SRT General Merchants that he represented have also been named in the FIR as accused, the officials said.
The agency on Tuesday conducted searches at the residence of Faizal in Delhi, Calicut and Lakshadweep, they said.
Faizal did not respond to messages requesting his response.
The CBI had conducted joint surprise checks after getting inputs of alleged corruption in last week of June.
The checks showed that during 2016-17, Faizal gave a false Lakshadweep Cooperative Marketing Federation (LCMF) Ltd that a foreign buyer SRT General Merchants Importers and Exporters, is willing to import dried Tuna fish at a higher price than the prevailing rate, the CBI FIR said.
Board of Directors of LCMF, in its meeting on November 21, 2016 decided to procure the fish from local fishermen, the FIR alleged.
They procured 287 MT of the fish from them of different islands of Lakshadweep through co-operative societies of islands on the assurance that fishermen will get prices higher than the prevailing market rate, it said.
M P Anwar, the then Managing Director, LCMF, also named as accused, without following norms and without floating any tender and merely relying on the assurance of Faizal proceeded with the purchase, the FIR said.
Faizal fixed the Tuna fish exporter Accelerated Freeze Drying Company (AFDC) based in Cochin, Kerala through LCMF for exporting the fish, it alleged.
The said project was not materialized due to refusal of AFDC as it did not receive Rs 60 lakh for the first consignment of the fish which was to be exported to the Sri Lankan company.
"Cochin-based AFDC suffered a loss of about Rs 60 lakh and also it did not continue the lifting of fish through LCMF, as per the agreement. The poor fishermen of Lakshadweep Islands and LCMF have faced a loss of money to the tune of approximately Rs 9 crore," the FIR said.
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Nursing college student from Kerala dies by suicide at hostel, parents allege foul play
Bengaluru (PTI): A 19-year-old student from Kerala, who was studying at a private nursing college here, allegedly died by suicide in his hostel room, police said on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Adhityan P A, a second-year student at a nursing college in Bommasandra, they said.
On April 29, he was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room, police said, adding that he left behind a suicide note stating that no one was responsible for his death.
Preliminary investigation suggested that he may have been suffering from depression, and there may have been other issues which are being probed, a senior police officer said.
According to police, in his complaint, the deceased's father, Pradeep S, claimed that a college representative informed him upon his arrival in Bengaluru that his son had died under suspicious circumstances and that it was a case of suicide in the college hostel.
"However, I firmly believe that my son would not have taken such a step. He was of good character and mentally strong. Therefore, I strongly suspect foul play in his death," he claimed.
He also highlighted an incident that occurred approximately 20 days ago, when his son informed him that some of his hostel roommates were involved in drug use and were caught by hostel authorities.
"They were warned along with my son, although he was innocent and not involved in the incident. This situation may be relevant to the present case," he stated.
The complainant has urged the police to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the matter and take appropriate legal action.
A case of unnatural death has been registered at Hebbagudi Police Station here. Further investigation is underway, and all allegations are being examined, police said.
