THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vigilance gives clean chit to former minister K Babu in the bar bribery case. The department has said that there is no evidence against Babu in the case. Vigilance has given clean chit to the minister in the report submitted before the Muvattupuzha vigilance court. The report also added that there is no evidence on the allegations raised against the former minister, therefore subsequent proceedings against him should be stopped.

The allegation against the former excise minister is that he committed graft proceedings worth Rs 100 crore in renewing bar licences and also in closing down the government’s liquor outlets near private bars. But even the complainant has not alleged that K Babu has taken the bribe amount directly. The report also says that Rs 3.79 core was collected by the bar owners to meet the expense of conducting various court cases against them.

The investigation against the former minister started in 2016. The report further states that even though the sum of Rs 3.79 crore was collected by the Kerala Bar Hotel Association, the files and official documents seized from the association’s office states that the money was used to fight the various cases in which the association was a litigation party. The report also adds that each allegation was probed in detail and all of them are baseless.