Telangana: Graft cases on excise staff to go

Hyderabad: Excise minister T. Padma Rao Goud has promised to withdraw ACB cases against excise staff.

Admitting that the department had a bad name of being the “most corrupt department”, he said 80 per cent of excise staff faced ACB cases.

He, however, said most of the cases had been booked against TS staff by ‘Seemandhra rulers’ for their active participation in the statehood agitation. The minister has promised to withdraw all these ACB cases, and to avoid any legal problems in future for doing this, a separate commission will be appointed to recommend how these cases should be withdrawn.

“The Excise department earned a bad name for being the most corrupt. But this was because of the inefficient governments in undivided AP. After Telangana state was formed and TRS took over the reins, we curbed corruption,” he said.