CBI chargesheets four in FACT oil furnace case

CBI chargesheets four in FACT oil furnace case
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

KOCHI, JAN 7: The CBI has filed chargesheets against four persons in the case relating to pilfering of over 10,000 litres furnace oil, while being transported from the Indian Oil Corporation depot here to the public sector Fertilisers And Chemicals Travancore (FACT) for its ammonia plant.

The agency was also contemplating taking action against two FACT employees for conniving with transport operators for facilitating the fraud, the CBI sources said.

Those named in the chargesheets, filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ernakulam, yesterday, are two drivers Sajan Mathew and P J George and vehicle owner K S Jayana and Sunny Joseph, who runs an oil pilfering centre.

The fraud came to light in July last when vigilance sleuths detained two tankers carrying considerable quantity of water in place of furnace oil that was illegally removed while being transported to the company.

The modus operandi was to refill the tankers with waterfor correcting its weight after oil was removed. The furnace oil was then sold to private companies.

Investigation also revealed that a chain of pilferingcentres thrived on the National highway at Chavara, Kalavoor and other places, the sources said.