KOCHI: As more skeletons stumble out of the cupboard in the Palarivattom flyover graft case, it has come to light that a section of officers of Roads and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Ltd (RBDCK) were against the Kerala Road Fund Board (KRFB) releasing funds to contractor RDS Project Ltd illegally. Documents with RBDCK reveal its finance wing had repeatedly sought explanation from KRFB for releasing funds directly to the firm.
A senior officer of KRFB said then Public Works Department (PWD) secretary TO Sooraj was the de facto member secretary of KRFB and it was as per his direction that the funds were released directly to the account of RDS bypassing RBDCK. “As per rules, KRFB should release the funds only to RBDCK, the implementing agency for the flyover,” said senior PWD officers.
The probe team of Vigilance and Anti- Corruption Bureau (VACB) has already collected relevant evidence from the offices of the RBDCK and KRFB to expose the illegal fund transaction that took place between the board and the contractor. The probe team is said to have seized letters written by the RBDCK financial officer to KRFB seeking explanation for the illegal fund transaction between the board and RDS Project.
Plea seeks to quash FIR
Kochi: RDS Project managing director Sumeet Goyal, first accused in the flyover corruption case, has approached the High Court seeking to quash the FIR registered by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) against him. His plea stated the amendment in the Prevention of Corruption Act mandated that Vigilance could not initiate an inquiry in a case involving a public servant without prior sanction of the state government. The VACB booked him without following guidelines, he said. The court will consider the case on Wednesday.