Crime Branch to investigate bar corruption allegations

Lina PortmanMay 25, 2024

0 2 minutes read

Thiruvananthapuram: A special team of the Crime Branch, headed by DySP Binu Kumar, will probe the allegations ban allegations of corruption in the state. Manorama News reported that the Crime Branch would conduct a preliminary investigation without registering a case.
Superintendent of Police Madhusoodhanan of the Thiruvananthapuram unit of the crime branch will supervise the investigation.

The alleged bar bribery feud made headlines after an audio clip, allegedly of a bar member asking other members to pay money for a policy, was broadcast on TV channels favorable when it comes to alcohol. The audio clip sparked a political storm in the state as reports claimed that the Kerala government was considering doing away with the norm of 'dry days' (days when alcohol is not sold in the state).
In the leaked message, Animon, the Idukki district chapter president, is heard demanding Rs 2.5 lakh from each member.
The investigation team is expected to interview Animon to clarify the allegations. The voice message, which was circulating within the WhatsApp group of members of the Idukki organization, was later deleted, but not before causing a stir within the sector.

An executive meeting of the bar owners' association was held in Kochi recently. Animon says he sent the guidelines from the meeting location. Without explicitly denying the authenticity of the recording, Animon expressed a desire to verify its contents.

Amid this, the opposition Congress-led UDF leveled allegations that the Left government had demanded Rs 20 crore from bar owners to come up with a policy favorable to them and demanded the resignation of the Excise Minister of State, MB Rajesh. Dismissing the opposition's allegations and demands, Rajesh said the state government was yet to hold deliberations regarding its liquor policy. The minister sent a letter to the state police chief demanding an investigation into the conspiracy behind the allegations regarding the voice clip.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Kerala Hotel Associations denied the allegations and claimed that no money was collected from its members to influence liquor policy. Association president V Sunil Kumar told reporters that the person whose purported voice clip was aired on TV channels had already been suspended from the association.

“So, I don't know what he said. He was suspended. After his suspension, if he says anything, we are not responsible for it,” Kumar said.