Kerala’s Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has decided to hold a preliminary probe into the allegation that Congress’s Excise Minister K Babu, a staunch loyalist of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, had taken Rs10 crore as bribe from the State’s bar owners even as the bureau has reportedly received crucial evidence against Finance Minister KM Mani who had allegedly taken Rs1-crore bribe from bar owners.
The enquiry against Babu is based a statement given on March 30 by bar owner Biju Ramesh before a Magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC in which he had said that the Minister had taken Rs10 crore as bribe in several installments and through different routes from bar owners for lowering bar licence fee to Rs23 lakh from Rs30 lakh.
After meeting Chief Minister Chandy, Minister Babu said on Wednesday that he would not cling to his position quoting technicalities if anything substantial came up against him in the Vigilance’s inquiry, which would be carried out by the Ernakulam unit of the VACB. Babu reiterated that Biju Ramesh’s allegation against him was baseless.
“let the Vigilance examine the charges against me. I will speak more after that,” Babu said. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress, who is also holding the Vigilance portfolio, said that the VACB would hold a preliminary probe against Babu. The Vigilance had registered an FIR against Mani after conducting such a probe, described as “quick verification”.
Though the legal advice the VACB had received was that there was no need of a separate investigation into the charges against Babu but these could be examined along with the inquiry into Mani’s role, the decision for a separate inquiry was taken considering the fact that the allegations against the Excise Minister pertained to different context and time.
There are rumours that the whole development is linked to the protracted faction war in the State Congress between the ‘A’ group headed by Chief Minister Chandy to which the Excise Minister belongs and the ‘I’ group led by Home Minister Chennithala. Reports say that the ‘I’ group is aiming for a leadership change in the Government.
Meanwhile, the Vigilance is said to have collected crucial evidence against Finance Minister Mani in the bar bribery case in an inspection held at the guard room of the official residence of Mani, also chairman of the Kerala Congress (M), third biggest constituent of the Congress-led ruling UDF , in Thiruvananthapuram.
According to sources, the VACB’s special team probing the case had found proof of the claim of Biju Ramesh, who had accused Mani of taking Rs 1-crore bribe from the bar owners, that the money given to the Minister was taken to his official residence in his Toyota car on the morning of April 2, 2014.
The investigators are said to have found the entry of the number of Biju Ramesh’s car – Kl 1BB 7878 – in the list of entries for April 2, 2014 in the register kept at the guard room. The VACB officials had carried out the inspection at about 11.30 AM on Monday but they had not entered the Minister’s living quarters.
The inspection was held on the basis of the statement given by Vijayakumar alias Ambili, driver of Biju Ramesh, that it was he who had taken the office-bearers of the bar owners’ association in Biju’s car on the particular date for handing over Rs 35 lakh, third installment towards the Rs 1-crore of bribe, to the Minister.
However, the office of the Finance Minister termed as baseless reports that Biju Ramesh’s car had reached Mani’s residence. The office said there was no separate vehicles register at his residence but the register was kept at the gates of the Cliff House compound, where the Chief Minister’s residence was also situated, through which Mani’s house was accessed.
