Kozhikode: Amid the heated debates on the allegations against the Artificial Intelligence camera row, Al Hind company of Kozhikode come up with a revelation on sensing foul play in the project. The firm revealed that it has withdrawn from the contract for installing cameras on roads after the Presadio company which is involved in the subcontract insisted that the cameras should be bought only from Trois Infotech company. The managing director of Trois Infotech company is the former director of ULCC-SRIT which is a joint venture of SRIT that won the main contract, and the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society (ULCCS). 

Authorities of Al Hind company said that they had been made to believe that the director of Presadio company was the relative of a top leader of the ruling front. For the subcontract, Presadio and Al Hind had formed a consortium with SRIT which had won the main contract. 

The managing director of Trois Infotech contacted Al Hind which took the tender for the purchase and installation of the cameras. An amount of Rs 49 crore was demanded for the cameras. Later, it was agreed to sell the cameras for Rs 40 crore. But when attempts were made to buy better cameras at lower rates from abroad, Presadio opposed the move. The insistence was on buying the cameras of the Trois company. Al Hind had deposited Rs 3 crore with the Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KELTRON) as part of the project. The firm claimed that only Rs 1 crore has been returned till now. 

Names and photos disappear
The names and photos of the managing director and other directors of the Kozhikode-based Presadio Technologies, which won the subcontract from SRIT for installing cameras on the roads, have disappeared from the company’s website. However, their short bios are there without their names. 

Govt probe faces criticism
The government’s tactic of declaring an investigation in order to prevent an investigation is being repeated in the road camera deal too. The same strategy was used by the government in the LIFE Mission bribery case by handing over the case to Vigilance in order to prevent the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from conducting an investigation. However, the move went awry when ED registered a case leaving the Vigilance investigation a mere scarecrow.