Bar bribery case:After Mani, hotelier turns heat on Excise Min

Training his guns on another Kerala Minister a day after Finance Minister K M Mani resigned over bar bribery allegations levelled by him, hotelier Biju Ramesh today renewed his charge that Rs 10 crore was given to Excise Minister K Babu for renewal of licences of liquor bars.
Reiterating his charge, first made in a statement to the Vigilance in April last, Ramesh alleged that he himself gave Rs 50 lakh each twice at the Secretariat office of the Excise Minister, and offered to provide more evidence and also face a lie detector test.
However, rejecting the claims, Babu, a close confidant of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, said he was not "scared" and he would continue his legal battle through a defamation case filed against Ramesh earlier for making 'false' charges.

In the defamation petition pending in a court here, Babu had alleged that Ramesh made the 'false' allegations with an intention to defame him. In April, Babu had also challenged Ramesh to come out with details of the bribe -- when, where and to whom the money was paid.
It was based on the charge by Ramesh who is also the working president of Kerala State Bar Owners Association, that the Vigilance had filed a case against Mani, who yesterday quit following adverse remarks by the high court against him in the matter.
Ramesh had alleged in October last year that Mani had demanded Rs five crore as bribe and accepted Rs one crore for renewal of licences to more than 400 liquor bars.

Targeting Babu today, he alleged that while he had given Rs 50 lakh each at the office of the Minister, another hotelier had handed over Rs 9.5 crore as per his (Babu's) direction. He also said he was ready to face a narco-analysis test to prove his allegations and dared Babu to do so.

"Rs 10 crore was demanded in connection with licence fees. I gave Rs 50 lakh (meant for Babu) at his office. ...A year ago also I had given Rs 50 lakh at his secretariat office. ...On these two occasions I took the money to his office in the evenings," Ramesh told reporters here.

"I am ready for narcro-analysis test. I am ready to give it in writing. Is Babu ready for a narco-analysis test?" the hotelier asked.
He also alleged that Vigilance which questioned him on his complaint against Mani in April did not record his statement against Babu.
Rejecting the allegations, Babu said in Thiruvananthapuram that Ramesh had sent messangers to him requesting him to withdraw the defamation case filed against him for levelling such allegations earlier.
"I am not scared of such allegations," Babu told reporters after meeting Mani at his residence.
Rejecting Babu's allegations that he had sent messengers, Ramesh said he would file a defamation petition against him for 'spreading lies'.