HYDERABAD: With his name popping up quite frequently in the liquor syndicate scam, prohibition and excise minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana marched to the chief minister’s camp office Tuesday and sought to know the reasons for its recurrence.What triggered the minister’s hard talk with the chief minister was the reiteration of Nunna Venkata Ramana, a syndicate organiser, during questioning by ACB officials that the minister was the recipient of a Rs 10 lakh bribe.Furious over the ACB questioning him and details of the interrogation finding its way to the media, Venkata Ramana made it clear to the chief minister that he suspected that the ACB was deliberately tarnishing his image.The evidence he had shown to the chief minister was that though two persons who were supposed to have handed over the bribe amount to him had denied making any such payments to him, their confessions were not recorded.The liquor merchant, during interrogation on Tuesday, confessed to the Anti-Corruption Bureau that he had given `10 lakh to the minister as bribe to settle a dispute that erupted between two liquor syndicates in Khammam district.“After the minister solved the issue, the two liquor syndicate organisers paid a bribe of `10 lakh to the minister at his house in Banjara Hills,’’ Nunna Ramana told the ACB.Raman’s earlier version to ACB officials that Venkata Ramana accepted the bribe to allow them to form liquor syndicates created an uproar in political circles.Soon after the ACB submitted the syndicate leader’s confessional statements to the court, the minister denied his involvement and told the chief minister that his hands were clean.During questioning, Nunna Ramana confessed for the second consecutive time before ACB officials that he had paid the bribe to the minister.Ramana said he had partnership in 29 wine shops in 10 syndicates ``As I have partnership in 29 wine shops and influence over 80 wine shops in Khammam and Warangal districts, I decided to pay mamools to excise officials and others.Our purpose of paying mamools (regular bribes) is to make them look the other way when we sell liquor above MRP, lack of maintenance of proper records, operation of belt shops and also for not having proper naukarinama of their employees at the wine shops.Mamools are being paid to the police to allow them to keep wine shops open beyond the stipulated time, allow customers to drink near the shops and to allow parking of vehicles near the shops,’’ Ramana said.He also confessed that when the liquor syndicate office at Warangal was raided by ACB officials, some of the records were burnt and the computer data was taken out.Meanwhile, the minister is getting ready for a showdown with the opposition parties which might target him during the likely debate on liquor scam on Thursday.“I will make a statement on the liquor scam.I am ready to lay bare everything on the floor of the House.There is nothing to hide.For some inexplicable reasons I am being targeted though I am innocent of all the charges levelled against me,’’ the minister said.After the minister solved a dispute, two liquor syndicate organisers from Khammam paid a bribe of Rs 10 lakh to the minister at his house in Banjara Hills._ Nunna Venkata Ramana, syndicate organiser Mamools to excisemen To make them blink at sale of liquor above MRP, lack of maintenance of proper records, operation of belt shops and improper naukarinama Mamools to policemen To allow shops to remain open beyond the stipulated time, allow customers to drink near shops, to allow vehicle parking near shops.
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