Spurious liquor racket puts Andhra government in a tight spot
The scandal has placed the chief minister in an uncomfortable political situation, as the YSRCP wrote to the Centre demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged spurious liquor racket, stating that it involved the members of the ruling Telugu Desam party
Hyderabad: The latest spurious liquor racket unearthed by the Andhra Pradesh prohibition and excise department in Annamayya district has landed the Chandrababu Naidu government in an embarrassing position.
The development comes at a time when the special investigation team (SIT) of the state police into the ₹3,500 crore liquor scam that allegedly took place during the previous YSR Congress party regime has reached a decisive stage with several top political leaders and officials being arrested and prosecuted.
The scandal has placed the chief minister in an uncomfortable political situation, as the YSRCP wrote to the Centre demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged spurious liquor racket, stating that it involved the members of the ruling Telugu Desam party.
Though TDP state unit president Palla Srinivasa Rao announced suspension of party in-charge of Thamballapalle Jayachandra Reddy and local TDP leader Katta Surendra Naidu, whose involvement in the spurious liquor racket was established by the authorities, enough damage was done to the image of the party, which has been attacking the YSRCP over the liquor scam of the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
As Naidu faces the dual challenge of ensuring accountability within his party and restoring public trust in law enforcement, he announced constitution of yet another five-member SIT, comprising senior IPS officer GVG Ashok Kumar, Rahul Dev Sharma, K Chakravathi and Mallika Garg, besides an expert from excise department for detailed investigation of the case and total revamping of the system.
He told the reporters last week that a mobile application – “Suraksha” – would be launched to help trace the manufacturing and selling details of the liquor bottles. “The shop owner should scan the bottle before selling the bottle to the consumer. The consumer also can scan the bottle to know whether it is real or spurious liquor. The app will also help to curb the belt shops menace also as the shop will be geo tagged,” he said.
The chief minister said that in Mulakalacheruvu spurious liquor case 16 persons were arrested out of total 23 accused including main accused Addepalli Janardhan Rao. He made it clear that the government will act tough on the accused irrespective of their political affiliations and there is no question of shielding anyone who tried to escape in political guise.
Naidu said the spurious liquor is said to have its roots in Africa and some people are conspiring to implement the same pattern in Andhra Pradesh in political guise. “We shall expose the racket and take stringent action against the accused,” he said.
He alleged that during the previous government own brands were promoted and legalised the entire system by owning shops, transport and distilleries forcefully. He strictly instructed excise department staff and officials to act as per law or else they have to face action for their wrong doings.
Senior YSR Congress party leader and former minister Perni Venkatramaiah alias Nani alleged that the illegal liquor mafia was flourishing across Andhra Pradesh under the protection of the chief minister and TDP leaders. “The so-called Suraksha app and QR code system announced by Naidu is a diversion tactic to cover up fake liquor operations controlled by TDP financiers,” he said.
He said the liquor mafia is being run openly through bars, belt shops (unauthorised liquor outlets) and permit rooms, looting crores every day while endangering the lives of people with adulterated liquor.
He alleged that fake liquor produced in Mulakalacheruvu and Ibrahimpatnam is being supplied across the state through permit rooms and over 1.5 lakh illegal belt shops. He revealed that 3736 liquor shops in the State now have permit rooms only to push illegal stock.
“If QR code is the solution, who will scan QR codes in belt shops and permit rooms? Who will certify whether the loose liquor sold there is original or fake?” he asked.
He also challenged the government to release details of ₹99 liquor sales and digital payment records, calling the claim of 25% digital transactions a “blatant lie.” He said not even 10% of liquor sales are digital, and there is no accountability on the remaining unaccounted cash flow which is routed to the ruling party leadership.
How it was discovered
The racket came to light on October 1 when the enforcement team of the prohibition and excise department intercepted a vehicle on suspicion during regular checks in Mulakalacheruvu village of Pedda Tippa Samudram block. “The officials scanned the barcodes on the liquor bottles leading to exposure of scam,” an excise department official said.
Acting on a tip off, the prohibition and excise department sleuths raided a liquor manufacturing unit at Mulakalacheruvu village on October 3 and seized spurious liquor stocks and materials worth nearly ₹1.75 crore.
“The operation which continued till Sunday, led to the seizure of over 15,000 bottles of fake liquor, 1,050 litres of spirit, 1,500 litres of blended stock, 10,000 empty bottles, caps, stickers, labelling equipment, and a transport vehicle,” an excise department official said.
Further investigations revealed that it is a well-organised network spanning multiple districts. The racket was masterminded by Addepalli Janardhan Rao, who allegedly ran the operation with the help of his brother Jaganmohan Rao.
The brothers allegedly produced spurious liquor in Mulakalacheruvu by mixing rectified spirit, malt, and caramel, before transporting it to Ibrahimpatnam in NTR district for bottling and packaging. Labourers hired on trust were involved in the production and distribution, ensuring the fake liquor reached wine shops and belt shops across various districts.
The investigation picked up pace after excise teams discovered strong links between the Mulakalacheruvu unit and bottling facilities in Ibrahimpatnam. Acting on this information, officials raided two warehouses belonging to Janardhan Rao and seized sealing machines, fake labels, hologram stickers, and packaging cartons.
The liquor was found packed in quarter bottles bearing labels of popular brands. The packaging was so convincing that distinguishing it from genuine brands was almost impossible, the official quoted above said.
The alleged mastermind, Addepalli Janardhan Rao, who holds a bar licence in Vijayawada, had reportedly shifted operations to Mulakalacheruvu to produce counterfeit liquor on a large scale.
According to officials, the liquor produced was supplied to Andhra Wines in PT Samudram and Rock Star Wines in Mulakalacheruvu. Both outlets were sealed after raids confirmed the sale of spurious liquor. The vehicle used for transporting the bottles belonged to T. Rajesh, the licensee of Rock Star Wines.
The racket’s operations spanned multiple states - with workers recruited from Tamil Nadu and Odisha and functioned like a full-fledged factory.
