A CBI court in Kochi Saturday acquitted former Lakshadweep MP and NCP national general secretary Mohammed Faisal and two others in a case pertaining to causing loss to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) by illegally importing fuel to the islands.
The former MP is the ninth accused in the case, while others are P P Hussain Thangal and Beypore port head clerk Abdul Manaf. Faisal and Thangal are partners of Shebna Enterprises, which had a license to import essential commodities to the Lakshadweep.
The case was registered in 2009, and the CBI had charged nine accused in 2011, under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to CBI, misusing the trade licence, the accused availed diesel from BPCL at subsidy rate and sold the fuel in the islands, causing a loss of Rs 1.4 crore for the public sector oil entity. Considering the shortage of essential commodities in the islands, the Kerala government had given a sales tax exemption of 20 per cent for supply to the Lakshadweep. Accordingly, the state had levied only 4 percent tax for items including diesel, to the islands.
According to the CBI, diesel meant to Lakshadweep was illegally sold in Kerala itself, and the BPCL had failed to ensure that the supply reached the islands. Earlier, the court had acquitted six others, including BPCL officials. Advocate M J Santhosh appeared for the accused.