Case a politically motivated one, says Ibrahim Kunju

Former Public Works (PWD) Minister V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, now in judicial custody in connection with the Palarivattom flyover corruption case, has moved a bail petition before the High Court.

He said in his bail petition that his arrest was a politically motivated one. The immediate trigger for his arrest was the local body elections as well as the recent onslaught on the State government launched by the Opposition parties including the Indian Union Muslim League. Thus, a false case was foisted on him, he claimed.

The allegation that he had illegally sanctioned an amount of ₹8,25,59,768 as mobilisation advance was false. In fact, he had only formally approved the sanction of the advance amount when it was brought before him, after recommendation by two IAS officers and routed through proper channel in the Secretariat.

The investigating officer could not find any reliable materials against him to justify his arrest, he said. He was suffering from multiple myeloma with renal failure and was undergoing treatment at a hospital, Ernakulam, since April 2020. Besides, it had been now more than two weeks since his arrest. Therefore, further custody of him was unwarranted and arbitrary, the former PWD Minister said.