Flyover case: Ex Min ordered release of funds to firm, says

Retired Kerala IAS officer T O Sooraj, arrested in connection with the 'corruption' in the construction of a flyover here, on Thursday stuck to his claim that it was former state Minister Ebrahim Kunju who sanctioned release of interest-free funds to the contracting company.

The order sanctioning advance amount to the contracting firm was issued by the then minister on the recommendation of then Managing Director of the Kerala Roads and Bridges Development Corporation, he claimed.

Sooraj was talking to reporters while being taken to a court on Thursday for remand extension. The Court extended till October 3 his remand period.

Vigilance sleuths had recently interrogated Kunju, who is an IUML MLA, in connection with the case.

He had dismissed as 'politically motivated', the charges that he was responsible for the poor quality of the Palarivattom flyover, built when he was the PWD minister in the previous Congress-led UDF government.

Earlier, in his bail application filed before the Kerala High Court, Sooraj had said it was then minister who decided to accord sanction for release of advance and ordered to the release of Rs 8.25 crore without any interest.

He has said in the bail plea that there was no direction from the Minister to charge interest on advance amount.

Sooraj has claimed it was he, as the PWD secretary, had ordered to charge interest at the rate of two per cent excess of the rate available for saving bank deposits.

The former bureaucrat reiterated the claim in response to the allegations levelled against him by the vigilance officials that he, as PWD secretary, ordered release of the amount as advance payment to the contractor though there was no provision in the agreement to grant such advance amount.

His claim came amid reported move by the Vigilance sleuths to further interrogate Kunju.

Amid growing clamour for the further interrogation and possible arrest of Kunju, the investigation team from Kochi Vigilance unit held meeting with top officials at the Vigilance headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

Sooraj and three others were arrested by the Vigilance sleuths on August 30 in connection with alleged corruption in the construction of Palarivattom flyover here.

The flyover has been closed for traffic from May 1 after it started developing cracks within three years of being built.

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday had directed the Vigilance and Corruption Bureau to inform it of the progress in the probe into alleged corruption in the construction of the flyover.

Considering the bail applications filed by Sooraj and three others, the High Court has sought to know about the real culprits involved in the corruption in constructing the Palarivattom flyover.

The retired PWD secretary moved the high court after the vigilance court in Muvattupuzha refused to grant him bail in the case.

The IUML has defended its party leader Ebrahim Kunju, saying there was no evidence against him in connection with the case.

The Kerala government has decided to rebuild the flyover.

The construction of the new bridge will commence by October and the work is expected to be completed in a year's time, the government said.