It's gold all over! Ex-Kerala minister's kin stack gold worth many crores in lockers
- Vigilance found 100 sovereigns of gold in a bank locker of former Kerala Minister K Babu’s daughter.
- The examination was part of an ongoing investigation into the complaints that Babu amassed wealth disproportionate to his income.
- The Vigilance had conducted raids at the ex-minister’s house in Kochi on Saturday and filed an FIR against him.
FollowThe examination of bank lockers of former Kerala Excise Minister K Babu and his close relatives is turning out to be sort of a treasure mining. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Wendesday found 100 sovereigns of gold from a locker of the politician’s daughter. The anti-graft agency had found 120 sovereigns of gold stacked in the lockers of another daughter of the Congress leader the other day.
Also read: Kerala ex-excise minister's house raided by anti-graft bureau
The VACB had raided the houses of Babu, his close relatives and aides on Saturday following complaints that the former Kerala Minister and senior Congress leader had amassed wealth disproportionate to his income. The agency continued its search in the houses of Babu’s close aides on Monday and unearthed documents of land deals allegedly made on behalf of the Congress leader. The Vigilance had frozen all bank accounts of Babu and his relatives.
Also read: IPS officer sat on court order to probe ex-minister's 'illegal assets'
Responding to VACB crack down, Nivin, the son-in-law of the former minister stated that the agency was engaged in character assassination of Babu and his relatives and warned that he would file defamation case against it. “The gold found in the locker is the property of our entire family,” Nivin said. He also rubbished the allegation that the ex-minister owned 120 acres of land at Theni in Tamil Nadu. “The Vigilance is spreading falsehood without even conducting primary inquiry,” he said.
Meanwhile, the VACB raids against Babu and his aides have created ripples in the political circles in the state with a section in the Congress including the former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy terming it as political witch-hunt by the ruling Left Democratic Front. But the LDF denied political motives behind the VACB action and reiterated the government’s resolve against corruption. Interestingly, the Congress remains a divided house on this issue as well with a sizeable faction in the party, including the state party chief VM Sudheeran, keeping a studied silence.
