Former PWD secretary and fourth accused in the Palarivattom flyover corruption case, T.O. Sooraj had purchased 17 cents of land on October 1, 2014, for ₹1.4 crore for his son subsequent to the release of ₹8.25 crore as mobilisation advance without any interest to the contracting company-RDS project Ltd, according to a statement filed by Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Monday in the Kerala High Court.
The statement was filed in response to a petition filed by Mr. Sooraj seeking to quash the FIR against him.
The statement pointed out that the actual payment paid in connection with the land transaction was ₹3.30 crore. Sooraj had handed over an amount of ₹80 lakh in cash on May 22, 2014.
He also gave ₹20 lakh on August 4, 2014 and ₹25 lakh on September 29 the same year as advances. In addition to this, an HDFC cheque of ₹1.4 crore and ₹1.1 crore was given.
‘Suspicious’
The illegalities committed by him in connection with the construction of Palarivattom flyover and the payments of the large sum of unaccounted money were suspicious.
The VACB said that Mr. Sooraj had also violated the rules of business by issuing an administrative sanction order for an amount of ₹72.6 crores for the flyover works. He had abused his official position as a public servant and indulged in various corrupt activities and caused financial loss to the government. He was responsible for the disbursement of government money available with the Kerala Road Fund Board, it said.
