Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Wednesday arrested former PWD minister V K Ebrahim Kunju in connection with Palarivattom flyover scam. Kunju, who was the PWD minister in the previous Oommen Chandy ministry as the nominee of the Muslim League, is the fifth accused in the case.
Earlier, the VACB officials had interrogated Kunju, also an MLA from Kalamssery in Ernakulam district, several times in connection with the flyover case. Kunju was arrested from a hospital in Kochi where he had been undergoing treatment for some ailments, after vigilance officials held discussions with the hospital authorities.
Earlier in the day, the team reached Kunju’s residence and conducted a search but in vain. The case pertains to the construction of a National Highway flyover in Palarivattom, one of the busiest junctions in Kerala.
The construction was initiated and 80 per cent of the work was completed.
The flyover which was completed in 2016 was built at a cost of Rs 47.7 crore.
It was opened for traffic in October 2016, but, was shut in May 2019 after major flaws were detected in the structure.
Metro man E Sreedharan and experts from IIT Madras inspected the flyover and found cracks in 97 out of the 102 girders and 16 of the 18 pier caps. Later the government decided to demolish the flyover and build a new one at Rs 18.5 crore.
The reconstruction work began in September under Sreedharan’s supervision. Opposition Congress and Muslim League alleged Kunju’s arrest was politically motivated. It was intended to distract attention from the gold smuggling and drug cases.