Runway scam: CBI to collect samples

KOCHI: The CBI  on Wednesday collected samples from the runway at the Karipur airport in connection with the case related to the scam in widening of the runway.  “It was only an evidence collection. Bitumen samples were collected from the runway,” CBI SP Krishnakumar said. The samples were collected by a team of officials from the CBI Kochi unit. In the FIR, Airport former senior manager Prakash Kachnger, former senior assistant N Sreedhar, former assistant manager Bino Baby, and Delhi-based Arora and Associates are implicated. The case is that the accused had caused huge loss to the government. The Airports Authority of India awarded the work to Arora and Associates on January 19, 2007. The amount earmarked for the work was  Rs  17.32 cr. The CBI had found that there was misappropriation of Rs 53.06 lakh, mainly by using fake invoices.