K M Mani inaugurates the Kerala Congress (M) state meet in Kottayam. File photoThiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) has given a clean chit to former finance minister K M Mani in the sensational bar bribery case.
The probe team, in an affidavit filed in the Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court on Monday, said it could not find incriminating evidence against the Kerala Congress (M) leader.
In the court, the VACB reiterated that neither circumstantial nor scientific evidence against Mani could be found during the investigation. There was also no proof that Mani had accepted bribe.
Mani, against whom a first information report was filed following the allegation that he was paid Rs 1 crore bribe for reopening closed bars, had to resign unceremoniously after an adverse remark by the Kerala High Court in November 2015. He was then finance minister in the UDF government.
Mani had then said the case itself was a conspiracy by bar owners. The petitioners in the case included former chief minister V S Achuthanandan, LDF convener Vaikom Viswan, agriculture minister V S Sunil Kumar, bar owner Biju Ramesh, and BJP leader V Muralidharan.
Biju Ramesh’s charge against Mani is that the former minister had demanded Rs 5 crore to allow the opening of 148 bars, shut down following a decision taken by the then government. Evidence submitted by him in the form of CDs were later found by the forensic department to be doctored.
The court had earlier quashed a report filed by investigating officer R Sukesan clearing Mani of all charges. The petitioners had approached the Vigilance court against this, following which the re-investigation was ordered.
With the latest development, the case may finally be closed.
