First Post.com
The story of Saritha S Nair seems stranger than fiction. Part of this is her revelation about bribing Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and some members of his cabinet in exchange for their support in setting up a solar panel business empire in Kerala.Sadasivan Nair recalled the death of Somasekharan as a case of suicide. "He ended his life because of financial problems. Indira later got a job at the NSS office and the family lived on her income," said Sadasivan. People at Chngannur do not know much more about Saritha, because her family kept shifting homes after she was arrested in a cheating case in 2005.Sadasivan remembers Saritha as a quiet girl, who was bright when it came to her studies. "She and her sister studied at St Antony's Higher Secondary School here. Saritha was the topper in the school's final examination in 1994. She had a high distinction," he recalled.
The life of Saritha took a sudden turn after her marriage to a man who is still working in the Gulf. She was only 18 at the time of marriage. By this point, she had completed her 'plus two' studies and had a diploma from a polytechnic in electronics & communication. After marriage, Saritha took a diploma course in aircraft maintenance &engineering.
Saritha's marriage, ended soon after she gave birth to a son. Saritha herself claims that she had an offer letter for a job from an airline company, but did not accept it as her mother and sister objected to the dress code of the company. Later she entered share-brokering business, which looked a lucrative option .Her so-called fraudulent days began when she was working in the credit card section of HDFC.It was at this time that she became acquainted with Biju Radhakrishan, her later partner in life and the solar business. Biju was married, but is said to have kept this a secret while dating Saritha. In 2006, Biju is alleged to have killed his wife Resmi in order to marry Saritha.
The re-investigation revealed that Biju had suffocated his wife to death after forcing her to drink excess liquor. Currently, Biju, the first accused in the solar scam case, is also serving a life term for the murder of Resmi. Although he had offered to marry Saritha, he preferred to be a live-in partner and was using Saritha to influence politicians. Saritha was arrested in 2005 accused of siphoning investments by HDFC customers. Biju, was HDFC manager, was arrested on similar charges. Though both were sent to jail. According to the documents — including an affidavit submitted by Saritha before the commission — she and Biju decided to enter the solar panel business in 1991.
“They took the money, misused me and never gave me the help they had promised in return,” said Saritha, as a reason for exposing the politicians now.
