VACB to question Babu in wealth case

Phone records reveal Baburam and Babu had been in close touch for a long period, say officials

October 21, 2016 12:00 am | Updated December 02, 2016 10:45 am IST - KOCHI:

K. Babu

K. Babu

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) is slated to interrogate former Excise Minister K. Babu on Friday in connection with the disproportionate assets case against him.

The probe pertains to a case registered against Mr. Babu and his alleged benamis Baburam and Mohanan, for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Officials said a summons had been issued to Mr. Babu to appear at the VACB office at Pullepady, Kochi.

The interrogation will be on the basis of documents and other materials collected during the probe, including records of bank transactions by the former Minister.

‘‘We have collected details of telephone conversation between Baburam and Babu, which showed that the duo had been in close touch for a long period.

Similarly, two letters written by Baburam to former Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and former Vigilance Director Shanker Reddy written in November 2015 have also been recovered,’’ a VACB official said.

According to him, the contents of these letters are related to the allegations against Mr. Babu in the bar bribery case.

The letters, requesting to drop a Vigilance probe into the bar bribery case, also suggested that the allegations against Mr. Babu were baseless and instigated by bar owners.

Further, a verification of the details of the phone calls made by Mr. Babu suggested that the duo had contacted over 90 times during the last 12 months.

The revelations came against an earlier claim by Mr. Baburam to the VACB denying any links with Mr. Babu.

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