HC asks Andhra ACB to complete liquor scandal probe quickly

Hearing a PIL, the bench of acting Chief Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Vilas V Afzulpurkar wondered how long the investigation would take.

The PIL has sought CBI probe in the case, alleging that some state Ministers and top political leaders have obtained liquor licenses illegally.

The ACB probe so far has discovered that members of a liquor `syndicate' were running shops in the names of `white' ration card holders, who could not have had the financial resources to pay for licences.

ACB sleuths have been conducting raids across the state since December, after exposing the liquor mafia -politicians-officials nexus, with the arrest of Nunna Venkata Ramana.

Nunna has allegedly claimed that he had paid a bribe of Rs 10 lakh to the then excise minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana (now in jail in connection with disproportionate assets case against Kadapa MP Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy).

The agency has also arrested several excise officials since March on the charges of "subverting" the tender process for allotment of liquor shops, and even some police officials, for alleged links with the liquor mafia.

The ACB, which has formed a Special Investigation Team, has said in its preliminary report that "some political big-wigs have obtained liquor licenses" in bogus names.