The committee members have also not turned up to give any statement
Finance Minister KM Mani. (Photo: DC/File)
Kochi: The state government on Wednesday submitted before Kerala High Court that the investigation into the bribe scandal against Finance Minister K.M. Mani so far had revealed that no definite conclusion could be reached from the deposition of witnesses.
The persons who were questioned during the inquiry neither witnessed any demand of money made by Mr Mani nor any bribe accepted by him, the state said.
Notices were repeatedly issued to D. Ramkumar, state president, Kerala Bar Hotels Association, M.D. Dhanesh, general secretary, Krishnadas Polakulathu and 11 others but they failed to appear before the agency.
The state president, vice-president, general secretary and other members of the association, who were alleged to have participated in the transaction, have through their letter and e-mail applications requested for a convenient date after November 28, the state said.
The bar owners informed the VACB that a five-member committee was constituted to give evidence relating to the allegations. The committee members have also not turned up to give any statement.
The state submitted that the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau questioned 19 witnesses, including Opposition Leader V.S. Achuthanandan, and it was yet to get a clear picture on the transaction of money in the case.
The state made the submissions on a petition by Mr V.S. Sunil Kumar MLA seeking a directive to the director of the VACB to conclude the preliminary investigation in seven days.
“The witnesses questioned so far have only hearsay knowledge regarding the allegations of demand and acceptance of bribe as alleged. In order to ascertain the allegations, it is essential to question the witnesses who are reported to have direct involvement in the matter. The failure on the part of the witnesses, who are reported to have knowledge about the transactions, to turn up for examinations is delaying the completion of the inquiry,” the state said.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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