Pal Refinery Md, Director Quizzed On Dealers Deposits

Based on a complaint made by some dealers, the local police yesterday interrogated the company's managing director A W Patwardhan and director J B Krishnamurthy.

The two executives have been asked by the police to produce before them certain documents and status papers of the company.

PAL entered the LPG market in early 1994 by importing LPG cylinders of 11 kgs capacity from Singapore. It had claimed a tie up with Hong Leong Cylinders Pte Ltd of Singapore for the cylinders and with Esso Singapore Pte Ltd, B P Singapore Pte Ltd and Summit Gas Systems Pte Ltd for gas filling.

 

The company had appointed 60 dealers in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Karnataka and enrolled some 60,000 customers, each of whom made a deposit of Rs 3,000.

PAL claimed that it was setting up the necessary facilities for bulk import of LPG at Paradip port. It also planned a network of gas filling plants including one at Bibinagar on the outskirts of the city.

Last year, there was a sort of a coup in the PAL boardroom when Krishnamurthy quit as the chief executive and the management was taken over by Patwardhan.

The two blame one another for the sorry state of affairs. The company was floated by a group of non-resident Indians.

PAL has been facing serious financial difficulties, partly due to mismanagement and partly due to the high price of the LPG.