Fuel rate cut grossly insufficient: Shiv Sena
Mumbai, Oct 4: The Shiv Sena Thursday joined the Opposition to condemn the "meagre" reduction in prices of petrol and diesel by the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra.
Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale said the decision was taken by the government fearing the "wrath" of common people.
The Maharashtra government announced the decision to reduce price of petrol by Rs 2.50 per litre, soon after the Centre announced cut in the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.50 per litre.
As per the state government, the reduction will give consumers in the state a relief of Rs 5 a litre.
"The decision to cut down prices of petrol and diesel by the Centre and Maharashtra governments has been taken fearing the wrath of people. This reduction is meagre," Shewale said in a statement.
Shewale said prices of petrol should be minimal in Mumbai given that crude oil is processed in the financial capital which is home to a number of refineries.
Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe said the fuel price cut should have been at least one-third of the total increase in prices under the present BJP-led government.
"Prices of fuel have increased with the speed of a bullet train. However, they are being reduced at a snail's pace. This is a very meagre price cut. They should have reduced it by at least one-third of its total appreciation," she said.
The Shiv Sena is a constituent of the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra.
Speaking in Panaji, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the price cut would not give any relief to common people. "I cannot term the decision as respite for the people.
"First they sucked the blood of the common man by hiking fuel prices and when people are on ventilator, now they are providing some oxygen," Raut said.
"If the Centre wants, it can maintain the prices between Rs 50-60 per litre," he said.
The Sena welcomes today's price cut but expects that the Centre shows the courage to slash fuel prices by Rs 15-20 per litre in the coming days, he said.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
