PUTHUKKAD: ED conducted a 24-hour-long raid at the National Highway's toll plaza contract company office. The raid started at 11 a.m. on Monday and ended at 11.30 a.m. yesterday. An eight-member team, including three women, conducted the inspection from the Kochi office of ED under the leadership of Assistant Director Satyaveer Singh.

The inspection was carried out without letting anyone outside other than the women employees. The construction of the Mannuthy Angamali four-lane road and the collection of tolls are done by a company contracted under the name of Guruvayoor Infrastructure Limited, a consortium of Hyderabad-based KMC Company and Kolkata-based Sree Finance Company.

CBI has indicated that a case was filed after the central government incurred a loss of 102 crores in the construction. It is understood that the ED raid is part of a CBI case. Rs 721 crore was spent on the construction of the four-lane road. There are complaints of breach of contract in construction, irregularity and non-completion of construction works. The company has so far collected Rs 1250 crore in tolls.