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Amaravati, October 12 (IANS) The Andhra Pradesh government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Mulakacheruvu poisonous liquor case.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday announced that the SIT will be headed by Eluru range police inspector GVG Ashok Kumar. The members of the SIT are IPS officers Rahul Dev Verma, Mallika Garg and K Chakraborty. An expert from the product department will also be a member of the SIT.
The Chief Minister said in a press conference that the SIT will thoroughly investigate the case and make radical reforms in the system.
The Chief Minister said that 23 accused have been identified in this case and 16 people including the main accused Janardhan have been arrested.
Chandrababu Naidu said he also immediately suspended a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader for his alleged role in the issue. The Chief Minister made it clear that the government will take strict action against the accused regardless of their political affiliation and there is no question of protecting anyone trying to escape under political cover.
The Chief Minister said that poisonous liquor is said to have its roots in Africa and some people are conspiring to implement the same pattern in Andhra Pradesh. He claimed that the TDP leader is the first person to expose the spurious liquor case in Mulakacheruvu.
The Chief Minister expressed surprise that some parties are demanding a CBI inquiry to avoid the poisonous liquor case. He said that during the previous government, its brands were promoted and the entire system was legalized by forcibly taking ownership of shops, transport and distilleries.
He said hemp cultivation has been made a commercial crop and the drug menace has increased during 2019-24. He said that those who are resorting to crime in the name of politics are now blaming the government by spreading false propaganda on poisonous liquor. Naidu said that action will be taken against those spreading false propaganda. He said the previous government failed to respond despite the death of 27 people in Jangareddygudem and was now accusing the state government of a false campaign.
The Chief Minister also gave a strict warning to the employees and officers of the Excise Department to work as per the law, otherwise they will have to face action for their wrongdoings.
He said the state government introduced the AP Excise Suraksha App to curb the problem of spurious liquor. The app will help to trace the manufacturing and selling details of liquor bottle.
A liquor store owner must scan the bottle before selling it to a consumer. The consumer can also scan the bottle to know whether it is genuine or fake. He said the app will help in curbing the problem of belt shops as the shops will be geo-tagged.
–IANS
MS/UK