India News | Vigilance Court Declines Plea Seeking Custody of Former Minister Ebrahim Kunju
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. A vigilance court on Tuesday declined a viglance Department plea, seeking custody of ailing former minister K Ebrahim Kunju, arrested by the agency in a flyover scam case, observing that it cannot be granted at this stage, considering his health condition.
Kochi, Nov 24 (PTI) A vigilance court on Tuesday declined a viglance Department plea, seeking custody of ailing former minister K Ebrahim Kunju, arrested by the agency in a flyover scam case, observing that it cannot be granted at this stage, considering his health condition.
The Muvattupuzha Vigilance Court stated this while considering a report submitted by a medical board constituted by it to assess the health status of IUML MLA Kunju, whose arrest was recorded by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) at a private hospital here last week where he was admitted for treatment of a type of cancer.
VACB counsel submitted that the senior politician should be shifted from the private hospital to a government facility, where he can be provided better treatment in judicial custody.
The court then directed the District Medical Officer, Ernakulam, to file a report on government hospitals having facilities to treat Kunju, who had undergone chemotherapy for cancer several times at the private hospital.
The DMO has been directed to file the report on Wednesday.
The court is expected to pronounce its verdict on Wednesday on the bail application filed by Kunju.
Sources in the private hospital where Kunju has been admitted had earlier said that he had been consulting the doctors there since April this year for the ailment.
Kunju, representing Kalamassery constituency in the state assembly, was interrogated multiple times in the past by the agency in connection with the Palavarivattom flyover scam case.
The Vigilance has alleged Kunju sanctioned interest-free funds to the contracting company, which had built the flyover, now closed after it developed cracks within a year of its inauguration in 2016.
The arrest came eight months after he was arraigned as accused in the corruption case relating to the construction of the Palarivattom flyover in the city.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)