Thiruvananthapuram, Sept. 3 -- What began with a complaint received on the mobile phone of Kerala Excise Commissioner Seeram Sambasiva Rao ended with a late-night questioning of a senior Excise officer and the suspension of seven officials in Kottayam district.

The covert operation, code-named 'Operation Bijapur', was launched to verify allegations of systematic corruption involving Excise officials and licensed bar establishments in the Changanassery area. The preliminary inquiry has allegedly uncovered a network through which officials collected cash, liquor, food and other benefits from bars, often through intermediaries.

The operation was kept so secret that even the Commissioner's local departmental machinery was reportedly kept ou...