According to a report by The Indian Express, the Andhra Pradesh CID has filed a chargesheet in a Rs 3,500 crore liquor scam and found that former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy allegedly received kickbacks. However, the CID has not yet named him as an accused. The chargesheet was submitted to a Vijayawada court on Saturday, which is yet to take any action on it.
According to sources The Indian Express, the CID probe found that Rs 50 to 60 crore in bribe money was collected every month between June 2019 and May 2024. This money came through a liquor policy that, according to investigators, helped a few selected companies and suppliers.
The CID said that the main accused, Kesireddy Rajashekar Reddy, who was Jagan’s former IT advisor, collected the bribe money. He allegedly sent the money through shell companies and gave it to senior YSRCP leaders like V Vijayasai Reddy and P V Midhun Reddy. The CID claims these leaders later gave the money to Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Vijayasai Reddy is a former Rajya Sabha MP, and Midhun Reddy is the current MP from Rajampet. The CID said they had a big role in changing the state’s excise policy. They replaced a computer-based order system with a manual process and placed loyal people inside the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL), which controls liquor sales in the state.
Rajashekar Reddy also allegedly worked with former MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy to move Rs 250 to Rs 300 crore in cash for election use. The money was reportedly used to buy land, gold, and luxury properties in Dubai and Africa. At least Rs 60 crore of this bribe money has been seized, according to CID sources.
The CID says the liquor policy was changed so that the accused could earn big commissions from liquor companies. Most of the bribes were received in cash and gold.
YSRCP hits back, calls the case fake and political revenge
The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, strongly denied all the charges and blamed the current TDP government under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
YSRCP leader Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy said on Sunday, “This is nothing but a political conspiracy designed to silence those who stand with the people. This is a targeted act of political vendetta by the TDP government to cover up its own scams and failures.”
He also said, “The alleged liquor scam is nothing but a manufactured narrative, created purely for media theatrics and to divert attention from real issues. The entire case is built on statements extracted under pressure, threats, third-degree torture, and also bribes and inducements. Midhun Reddy, who has been elected as a Member of Parliament for three consecutive terms, has been falsely implicated through forced confessions.”
He added that the government has no real proof. “Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took away liquor trade from private players and got it into the government fold to reduce and regulate liquor prices, while Chandrababu Naidu has let the liquor operations in private hands, which has more scope for corruption, and he had favoured his people by giving undue benefits,” he said.