The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) is set to question former Public Works Minister V.K. Ebrahim Kunju again on Saturday.
The Indian Union Muslim League politician had come under a cloud after the agency implicated him for corruption in the faulty construction of the flyover at Palarivattom in Kochi. The VACB has demanded the presence of Mr. Kunju before the investigating officer here on Saturday.
The move has triggered speculations that the summons may be the precursor of a possible arrest. The Assembly is due to convene on March 2 and any such steps will have political implications. Such a measure will require the approval of the Speaker.
So far, the VACB has arrested four persons, including former Public Works Secretary T. O Sooraj, in connection with the case. Mr. Sooraj’s statements to the VACB had brought the probe to the doorstep of Mr. Kunju.
The charge
Investigators suspect that Mr. Kunju had stacked the deck in favour of the private builder contracted by the government to execute the flyover project. He had “ordered” the release of ₹9 crore in advance to the builder. The government had sanctioned the “mobilisation fund” at a nominal rate of interest. The advance credit extended to the builder in “brazenly advantageous terms” had resulted in a loss of ₹60 lakh to the public exchequer.
