VIJAYAWADA: The Sixth Additional Judicial Magistrate Court in Vijayawada on Sunday night remanded former minister and YSRCP senior leader Jogi Ramesh and his brother Jogi Ramu to 10 days of judicial custody in connection with the alleged spurious liquor case.
Excise Department officials arrested the duo on Sunday morning and interrogated them for more than 10 hours at the East Zone Excise Office in Gurunanak Colony.
After recording Jogi Ramesh and his brother Jogi Ramu’s statements, the officials produced them before the court, which remanded them till November 12.
Both accused were shifted to Nellore District Jail on Monday morning.
According to the remand report, investigation officials told the court that prime accused Addepalli Janardhan Rao and Addepalli Jagan Mohan Rao maintained close ties with Jogi Ramesh and his brother, with investigators uncovering financial transactions among them.
Officials alleged that the four jointly operated a spurious liquor syndicate for over four years during the YSRCP regime and continued their operations.
“There were several occasions when Janardhan Rao gave money to Ramu under the instructions of Jogi Ramesh. They ran the spurious liquor business for more than four years during the YSRCP regime and maintained the same operations afterward,” the remand report stated.
Investigators further alleged that the accused caused a `9 crore loss to the State exchequer.
Evidence reportedly showed that Ramesh and Ramu visited the ANR Bar and Restaurant to inspect the liquor blending process using NDPL procured from Telangana.
Before leaving for South Africa in September, Janardhan Rao allegedly met Ramesh at his residence to discuss business operations.
Meanwhile, the Excise Department filed a petition on Monday seeking 10 days’ police custody of Ramesh and Ramu for further interrogation.
The court directed the respondents to file a counter and posted the hearing for Tuesday. Officials also sought custody of Janardhan Rao and Jagan Mohan Rao for additional questioning.
