Speaking to media persons in Kochi, Satheesan said the overall cost of the equipment was estimated to be around Rs 50 crore only. However, the cost went up to Rs 151 crore in the final contract, he said.
“The entire system including the cameras, control room, annual maintenance and the furniture would not cost more than Rs 50 crore, whereas the tender was for Rs 151 crore. This reeks of corruption to the tune of more than Rs 100 crore,” Satheesan alleged.
Satheesan said that Prakash Babu, the father-in-law of the Chief Minister’s son, took part in the meeting of the consortium, which was formulated for the subcontracts of the project and spoke extensively about it being a dream project.
Stating that the owner of Presadio Technologies Pvt Ltd , which won the sub-contract in the project, had not denied the presence of the CM’s relative in the meeting, Satheesan said: “We will produce the evidence to prove his presence at the meeting if a probe is ordered by an appropriate agency.”
He further alleged that the lack of transparency in the project had been brought to the notice of Principal Secretary, Industries, as back as October 23, 2021 by a company that had backed out from the contract.