Clean chit to Kerala excise minister in bar bribe case

The Kerala Vigilance department today gave a clean chit to state excise and ports minister K Babu on his alleged role in the bar bribe case.

A quick verification report of the vigilance department stated it could not file charges against the minister as there was no evidence to substantiate his alleged involvement in the bar bribe case.

The department noted its quick verification probe in the case did not reveal anything on the minister's alleged role. Vigilance SP KM Antony has submitted the probe report to the department director.

Meanwhile, Babu said he would react to the development only after reading the full report. The allegation against Babu was that he had accepted Rs 10 crore bribe to favour bar owners.

Meanwhile, Kerala Bar Hotel Owners' Association working president Biju Ramesh, who raised allegations against Babu, said the case was subverted by the state government.

"Those, including chief minister Oommen Chandy, were engaged in a conspiracy to save Babu," Biju alleged. Stating that he had evidence to prove the minister's alleged involvement, Biju said he would approach the high court in the case.