KOCHI: A day after the arrest of four persons including suspended IAS officer T.O. Sooraj in connection with the corruption in the Palarivattom flyover construction, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Saturday moved a petition before the Muvattupuzha vigilance court seeking the custody of all the accused for interrogation.
Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Limited (RBDCK) former assistant general manager M.T. Thankachan, KITCO former joint general manager and MD-in charge Benny Paul and managing director of RDS Project Limited Sumit Goyal were the arrested persons along with Mr Sooraj.
It is learnt the VACB is likely to interrogate former PWD minister V K Ebrahimkunju next week after getting custody of the four accused. "The MLA was aware of the flyover construction and it was the cabinet decision to sanction project using funds from Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB). So there is need to verify his statements once more as part of the probe," an official said.
The custody application submitted by the VACB stated that the accused persons were not willing to reveal the truth during interrogation. It said the concrete cut samples taken from the flyover failed to meet the expected strength. "Out of the samples taken from six girders, only two met the expected concrete strength. The samples from two piers and two pier caps failed to meet the norms," the officials said.
