Balakrishna Pillai likely to be vigilance's key witness

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The vigilance is likely to include Kerala Congress (B) leader R Balakrishna Pillai, who alleged that he had been aware of finance minister K M Mani accepting bribe from bar hotel owners, as a key witness in the bar bribery case.
Pillai had claimed in the audio tape released by Biju Ramesh that he had come to know from bar hotel owners in Kottarakkara about the bribe paid to Mani for reopening the closed bar hotels.
"Since the statement was not hearsay and it was a direct statement that he knows such a transaction, the probing officials are likely to include him among the key witnesses in the case, whose statements will be recorded," government sources said. The audio tapes, which Biju is likely to hand over to the investigating officers on Wednesday, will also be scrutinized by officials to check their authenticity. According to the latest amendment of the CrPC, audio and video tapes carry evidential value, subject to the verification of their authenticity.
Biju, meanwhile, is yet to hand over the tapes to the vigilance. Sources said he would meet the investigating officers on Wednesday at 2pm and hand over the tapes. The vigilance team will also record a fresh statement from Biju based on the new evidence.
Biju had said that in addition to tapes of his conversation with P C George and R Balakrishna Pillai, he would submit to vigilance the audio tapes of bar hotel owners' association state executive committee member Animon talking about handing over Rs 50 lakh to Mani. "In addition, there is also a conversation in the tape, in which Animon is saying that he was asked to contribute towards raising Rs 2 crore by owners of 312 bar hotels that are functional to be handed over to Mani as bribe for not opening the closed bar hotels," he said.
Biju said the gold merchants, bakers' association and rice mill owners had refuted the claims of bribing the minister out of fear. "In fact, the bakers' association had bribed him so as to get their tax reduced from 14.5% to 5%, but it was not done by the minister despite accepting the money," he said.
Meanwhile, Bindyaas Thomas, who was accused in the sex blackmailing case, tried to meet Biju at his residence on Tuesday.
He later said he suspected George's hand in the incident.