Kochi: The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) probing disproportionate assets case against former excise minister K. Babu on Monday inspected CCTV footage of certain banks on suspicion that valuables and documents kept in his bank lockers were removed just before the special cell wing lodged the case against him. The VACB examined CCTV camera footage of SBT, Tripunithura branch, in which Mr Babu's wife was seen checking the locker around a month before VACB registered the case against the former minister.
The VACB officials could find nothing in the locker during the raid. Later the bank officials informed the investigators that locker was opened on August 10. “It was found from the video footage that the locker was opened by Mr Babu's wife on the said date,” a VACB official said. “But the quality of the video footage is poor that it cannot be seen whether any materials or documents were retrieved from the locker. We would recover the CCTV footage from the bank and detailed examination would be carried out by the experts."
The investigators will check CCTV footages from banks where his relatives- daughters and in-laws also possess lockers. The development comes even as one of Mr Babu’s alleged benamis approached the Muvattupuzha Vigilance court seeking a direction to the Vigilance to return the money which its sleuths had confiscated from his house during a raid earlier this month.
In a petition filed before special judge P. Madhavan, Mohanan, owner of Trippunithura-based Royal Bakery, stated that VACB sleuths seized Rs 6.67 lakh from his house on September 3. He claimed the cash was meant for making monthly salary payments to his employees and withdrawn the previous day as hartal was being observed on September 3. The petition is slated for hearing on September 28.
