VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (APCID) filed yet another case against former Chief Minister and TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in connection with the alleged liquor scam. This marks the fourth case by the State probe agency against Naidu.
The CID officials submitted a memo to the ACB special court in connection with the case on Monday. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Naidu, former excise minister Kollu Ravindra and former Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Ltd (APSBCL) commissioner Naresh for allegedly granting liquor licenses by favouring a few suppliers and distilleries.
The CID officials registered the case on October 28 under sections 166, 167, 409, 120(B) R/W 34 of IPC and section 13 (1)(d) r/w 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act after receiving a complaint from APSBCL commissioner D Vasudeva Reddy. The FIR named Chandrababu Naidu as A3, Kollu Ravindra as A2 and Naresh as the prime accused.
According to the complaint, the commissioner of APSBCL found several discrepancies in the policy decisions of the previous government while reviewing the earnings and revenue of the State during 2014-2019. It was observed that a few distilleries were favoured by giving Letter of Intent (LOI) contrary to the recommendations of a committee constituted by the State government. The officials also noticed that new brands were permitted by the public servants after notification for general polls was issued on March 18, 2019.
The commissioner complained that exaggerated demand for certain products, lack of a mechanism for verification of the actual demand and participation of public servants at various stages of decision-making led to unlawful pecuniary gain for a few entities and distilleries. Vasudeva Reddy stated that the decision not to fix the privilege fee (8 per cent plus VAT on the turnover of purchases), payable by bars, in 2016 caused a loss of revenue worth Rs 1,300 crore to the public exchequer.
“The decision to remove the privilege fee was approved by the former CM and excise minister Kollu Ravindra without following business rules. This action amounts to abuse of office by public servants, loss to public exchequer, compromise to the public interest and unlawful pecuniary gain to the licensees,” reads the complaint.
Another allegation was that the previous government provided an extension of LOI to SPY Agro Industries Limited despite the High Court's directions that the latter was obligated to pay an enhanced licence fee.
“The SPY Agro Industries had caused a loss of Rs 15 crore to the government exchequer and chances of quid pro quo is high as the promoter SPY Reddy was a politician and MP from Nandyal,” the complaint said. The commissioner further mentioned that the previous government took a decision favouring PMK Distilleries, Visakha Distilleries and three others in 2019.
Charges against TDP chief