Kochi flyover case: Ex-bureaucrat, 2 others get bail

The Kerala High Court on Monday granted bail to a retired bureaucrat and two others who were arrested in connection with alleged corruption in the construction of a flyover in Kochi.

Justice Sunil Thomas granted bail after considering fresh bail applications filed by the accused who had been in prison since August 30.

Besides former PWD secretary T O Sooraj, the others granted bail are Sumit Goyal, managing director of the RDS Projects Ltd, which built the now-defunct Palarivattom flyover; and main accused M T Thankachan, former additional general manager of the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala.

The flyover was closed for traffic from May 1 after it started developing cracks within three years of its inauguration in October 2016. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had ordered a vigilance probe into the construction of the 750-metre-long flyover.

Benny Paul, who was the joint general manager of KITCO, a technical consultancy organisation that approved the "defective" tender submitted by Goyal, was earlier granted bail by the high court.

The court had then dismissed the bail applications of Sooraj, Goyal and Thankachan, observing that a "wider and deeper conspiracy" is involved in the poor quality construction of the flyover.

Meanwhile, a separate petition seeking to probe the role of former PWD minister P K Ebrahim Kunju was filed in the high court on Monday. Sooraj had claimed that it was Kunju who sanctioned release of interest-free funds to the contracting company.

Considering the petition, Justice Thomas directed the VACB chief to file a response in 10 days.

The case will be considered on November 15.