Consultant arrested in Kochi flyover scam
KOCHI: More heads are likely to roll in the Palarivatom flyover scam as Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau (VACB) officers arrested a consultant who designed the controversial bridge on the second day of arresting former minister of Public Works VK Ebrahim Kunju on Wednesday.
VV Nagesh, the owner of Nagesh Consultants, was arrested on Thursday and according to reports, more arrests are likely to take place in coming days. The arrest comes ater a day ater Nagesh was taken into custody for interrogation on Wednesday in Kotayam.
Manjunath, the senior consultant of the Bengaluru-based firm, has already been named as an accused in the case.
Experts including engineers from IIT Madras had found fault with the structural design of the flyover, low quality concrete and lack of supervision during construction as the reasons that led to the vulnerability of the structure.
Based on the findings, Vigilance brought Nagesh Consultants, which took Rs17 lakh as consultancy fees, into the ambit of the investigation.
Former minister Ebrahim Kunju, who was arrested and remanded on Wednesday, is currently undergoing treatment at Lakeshore Hospital. A medical board has been constituted to assess the health condition of Ebrahim Kunju, who is reportedly suffering from cancer.
A court on Thursday considered the bail plea moved by former PWD minister and set Nov.24 as the date to pronounce orders. Muvatupuzha Vigilance Court, which heard the bail plea of the senior IUML MLA, also gave directions for seting up of a medical board to examine him. In his bail plea, Ebrahim Kunju stated that the arrest was politically motivated and told the court that he was undergoing treatment for cancer.
Though the VACB had interrogated Ebrahim Kunju and raided his home earlier, the arrest was deferred apparently due to political considerations. He is named as the fith accused in the case.
Built at a cost of Rs47 crore during the tenure of previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government led by chief minister Oommen Chandy, the 750-metre flyover was supposed to last for over 100 years. The structure, however, developed serious defects including cracks and fissures within a year ater opening for traffic in October 2016. The flyover was closed to traffic on safety concerns and on the advice of engineering experts.
Four persons including Sumit Goyal, director of the RDS Projects, former Public Works Department secretary TO Sooraj, Benny Paul who represented the KITCO and MT Thankachen from the Roads and Bridges Development Corporation (RBDC) were arrested in this case and are currently on bail.