Chennai: P. Ramar Pillai, who shot into ‘fame’ across the country with his ‘herbal fuel’ more than two decades ago, has been sentenced to undergo three years of rigorous imprisonment by a CBI court on Thursday on charges of cheating and duping the people with his ‘invention’.
The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, K. Balasubramanian, has also sentenced four of his associates to undergo three years of RI and imposed them a fine of '30,000.
They were released on bail on Thursday night after they paid the fine and submitted sureties. A high school dropout, Ramar Pillai, hailing from a village near Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district, shot into limelight in 1996 with his ‘herbal fuel’. He claimed he managed to convert water into fuel -a hydrocarbon fuel- by boiling certain ‘’secret’ herbs in it. His claims were rubbished by the scientists then.
Nearly after 15 years he returned in 2010 with a new name for his ‘fuel’, ‘Ponnupillai Ramar’. Claiming it would make transportation much cheaper at '5 for a litre he sought the government to support his efforts. Recently, he even offered his ‘fuel’ to Army.
According to CBI between 1999 and 2000, Ramar Pillai colluded with few persons to do an illegal act of mixing petroleum products like Toluene and Naphtha and to market the mixture in the name of “Ramar Petrol, or “Ramar Tamildevi Mooligai Eriporul” as if it was extracted from herbs.
The mixture was to be used as auto mobile fuel from herbs, which did not match the ISI standard. The “herbal fuel” was only a mixture of petroleum products, marketing of which was prohibited by clause 3(V) of the Motor Spirit Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply and Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 1988.
The prosecution said “Ramar Pillai misrepresented the facts and sold the mixture as “herbal fuel” to the public through various sales outlets”. He collected a huge amount from owners of the outlets as deposits and fuel costs. Ramar Pillai and his associates gained Rs 2.27 crore for themselves, by cheating public.
On completion of trial, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore, K. Balasubramanian has sentenced Ramar Pillai and his associates, R. Venudevi, S. Chinnasamy, R. Rajasegaran and S.K. Bharat to undergo three years of RI and imposed on them a fine of Rs 30,000.
