Former excise minister K. Babu (file photo)Kochi: Former excise minister K. Babu on Saturday denied charges of irregularities in allotting the bar license. He said that the charges levelled against him were baseless.
"I have never intervened into the the power of excise commissioner. The licenses were granted as per the liquor policy of the UDF government. No decision was taken personally," Babu said and added that all the decisions were taken collectively.
A quick verification by vigilance department had earlier reported that Babu in his capacity as excise minister had involved in graft of over Rs 100 crore. Babu's actions, which had put the bar owners in a fix, were reportedly taken by surpassing the government notification.
The report submitted by Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, Ernakulam Central Range in the vigilance court in Muvattupuzha stated that corruption on a massive scale had taken place between 2011 and 2016 by allotting bar license and beer and wine parlor license without following rules.
