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India Gazette
19-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Punjab BJP chief seeks probe into Amritsar hooch tragedy, alleges AAP-liquor mafia nexus
Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], May 19 (ANI): Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Sunday submitted a memorandum to Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, demanding a probe into the Amritsar hooch tragedy and alleging links between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the liquor mafia in the state. The memorandum described the Majitha incident, in which 27 people reportedly died after consuming spurious liquor, as a 'tragedy of mammoth human proportions.' 'The avoidable tragedy of mammoth human proportions - 27 human lives have perished - has taken place due to the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP regime's well-known intent to not only harbour elements of the liquor mafia but also to profit from their criminal misdeeds,' the memorandum stated. The BJP pointed out that a similar incident occurred in March 2024 in Sangrur, the home district of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, suggesting a pattern of administrative failure. Jakhar claimed the incident was preventable and alleged political patronage of illegal liquor networks by the ruling AAP government. He also urged the Governor to order a time-bound inquiry into the AAP's alleged ties with the liquor mafia and to investigate whether Punjab's excise system is being exploited for personal gains. 'The horrible incident and precious loss of lives in the Hooch Tragedy at Majitha in Amritsar district has shaken the conscience of every Punjabi. BJP Punjab leadership is appalled at the human magnitude of this AAP-made tragedy and has been constrained to write to you through this delegation, Sir, as you are the Custodian of our State, and to seek your personal attention in this matter with the request to order a time bound enquiry into AAP's links with liquor mafia and its patronage of the same with a motive to exploit Punjab's excise for their personal profit as illegal gratification,' he said. The memorandum also drew parallels with the Delhi Excise Policy case, stating that top AAP leaders had been previously accused of alleged liquor-related irregularities. He also criticised Chief Minister Mann's recent statement that 99 per cent of villages in Punjab are free of drugs, questioning whether the spurious liquor crisis was being overlooked in such claims. 'The instant tragedy ironically has taken place while the AAP Government under Chief Minister Bhagwan Mann aggressively proclaims from every political rooftop a victory against the menace of drug abuse. The Chief Minister, only a day before yesterday, once again exhibited grave insensitivity and declared that 99% of Punjab villages are free of the drug menace! May be the present Hooch tragedy forced CM to stay short of that perfect 100% drug-free claim. Or maybe the Chief Minister himself and his government do not count spurious liquor menace equally deadly like abuse of drugs,' Jakhar said in his memorandum. He also raised concerns over reported methanol poisoning symptoms among the victims and said that the incident had occurred during heightened border security, raising questions about the state police's functioning. He appealed to the Governor to order time-bound action to 'ascertain the truth for every Punjabi' and ensure accountability. (ANI)
India Today
15-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
TDP Minister says Andhra liquor scam under Jagan Mohan Reddy bigger than Delhi's
Andhra Pradesh Excise Minister Kollu Ravindra alleged a massive liquor scam under the previous Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government, accusing it of disabling an automated ordering system to manually favour select liquor brands for political and financial Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 9 registered a money laundering case in connection with the alleged liquor scam in Andhra Pradesh. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) claimed that between 2019 and 2024, a well-orchestrated Rs 3,200 crore scam was carried out under the guise of liquor policy reforms. Raj Kasireddy, dubbed primary accused, is alleged to have played a central role in the said the YSRCP dismantled the C-Tel platform, a system designed to generate orders based on supply data, and instead manually pushed 43 specific brands, allegedly to collect commissions. He claimed the previous regime even threatened and took over distilleries to manufacture its own Minister also questioned the emergence of little-known liquor brands, Aadhan, Leela, NV, V9, Sona, and Munak, which he said had no presence in the state before raised serious concerns over liquor sales worth Rs 99,413.5 crore being done entirely in cash during the YSRCP tenure, with not a single digital transaction.'Where did this money go? Whose palaces did this cash flow into?' he asked, comparing the magnitude of the alleged Andhra liquor scam to the Rs 100 crore Delhi excise case, which led to the arrest of senior political leaders including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and K source familiar with the investigation also remarked that the scale and planning in the Andhra liquor case is even more extensive than what was seen in the Delhi Excise Policy demanded accountability, pointing out that even Sharath Chandra Reddy, brother of YSRCP MP Vijay Sai Reddy's son-in-law, was arrested in the Delhi liquor case. 'How can those involved in a far bigger scam in Andhra Pradesh escape accountability?' he it not just a financial scam but a 'crime against public health,' the Minister said substandard and unapproved liquor was pushed into the market, leading to a spike in deaths, illnesses, and dialysis new TDP government has now reintroduced transparency measures including a 'track and trace' mechanism and holograms to monitor the supply chain from bottling units to retail shops, he said. IN THIS STORY#Andhra Pradesh
India Today
29-04-2025
- Business
- India Today
Probe reveals national brands killed to enable Rs 3,200 crore Andhra liquor scam
With the return of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to power in Andhra Pradesh in June and the exit of the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government, the state's controversial liquor policy has come under renewed scrutiny. The recent arrest of Raj Kasireddy — IT Advisor to the former Chief Minister — has revealed more details in the alleged liquor SIT claims that between 2019 and 2024, a meticulously planned Rs 3,200 crore scam was carried out in Andhra Pradesh under the guise of liquor policy to his remand note accessed by India Today, Kasireddy, who is named Accused No. 1, played a central role in orchestrating a conspiracy that favoured obscure local liquor brands while eliminating established national players. The probe alleges this scheme generated monthly kickbacks of Rs 50–60 crore over a five-year period. A source familiar with the investigation remarked that the scale and planning in the Andhra liquor case is even more extensive than what was seen in the Delhi Excise Policy BRANDS PURGED, LOCAL LABELS DOMINATERaj Kasireddy, arrested by the SIT on April 21 at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, has been dubbed the kingpin of the operation. He and other accused individuals allegedly conspired to maximise profits by ousting nationally known liquor brands and flooding the market with their own labels. As a result, consumers were left with no real choice in available to the SIT, the market share of leading liquor brands plummeted from 53% to just 5.3%, while local and newly introduced brands came to dominate the shift was facilitated by dismantling the state's integrated online stock management system, C-Tel: which previously connected retail shops, depots, and the AP State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL) for transparent day-to-day excise operations. In its place, a manual 'Offer for Sale' (OFS) system was introduced, allegedly manipulated to disadvantage existing OFS system was tweaked in a way that the older suppliers' market share would be reduced. The new policy enabled weekly OFS to new suppliers, and stock limits were lifted, claims the probe agency. While popular brands witnessed a rout due to policy changes, the probe also claims the quality of the new liquor brands was in question, raising concerns about the liquor KICKBACKS, SHADOW NETWORKDocuments from the investigation show that the conspirators, including suppliers and distillery owners, relied on VPNs and encrypted platforms like Signal, as well as virtual international phone numbers, such as +1(914) 370 6001, to evade detection and avoid leaving digital SIT claims that Kasireddy personally received the collected kickbacks before passing them on to senior YSRCP average, Rs 50–60 crore was collected every month. Through discriminatory practices implemented as part of the conspiracy, certain brands experienced exorbitant sales. For example, brands linked to ADAN and LEELA suppliers in Andhra Pradesh were granted excessive OFS in violation of standard procedures, while previous leading brands like PERNOD RICARD were denied OFS,' reads the SIT's remand KICKBACK SYSTEM, MONEY LAUNDERINGEvery month, approximately 30 lakh cases of Indian-made liquor and 10 lakh cases were sold, thus the kickbacks were staggering. The SIT claims that the kickback for each bottle of liquor sold was fixed as per their grade and cheaper brands, Rs 150 per case was collected; for mid-range brands, Rs 200; and for premium labels such as Teachers and 100 Pipers, the figure reached Rs 600 per case.A sophisticated network of shell companies, over-inflated raw material payments, bullion accounts, and hawala channels were allegedly employed to funnel and obscure the flow of illegal proceeds.
