AP Liquor Scam: SIT Seizes Rs 11 Crore Cash at Farm House Near Hyderabad
SIT sleuths, armed with cash-counting machines, swooped down on the farm house, located the cash, counted it and seized it.
Vijayawada: In a major development in the AP liquor scam case, the state CID’s special investigation team seized Rs 11 crore in cash, in a farm house on the outskirts of Hyderabad in the early hours of Wednesday.
The cash was found hidden in 12 cardboard boxes. The seizure was based on a confession made by Accused No. 40, Varun Purushottam.
SIT sleuths, armed with cash-counting machines, swooped down on the farm house, located the cash, counted it and seized it.
The SIT team took accused Purushottam into custody and brought him to the SIT office in the city for questioning.
Meanwhile, SIT filed a memo in the ACB court claiming that Purushottam and another accused Chanakya hid the ill-gotten cash from the liquor scam in the farm house in June, 2024. They allegedly did this at the behest of the main accused Kasireddy Rajasekhar Reddy.
However, Rajasekhar Reddy filed an affidavit in the ACB court denying that the seized cash belonged to him.
He said, “I came to know that Rs 11 crore was seized by the SIT at a farm house belonging to Theegala Bali Reddy at Kacharam village of Shamshabad mandal in Ranga Reddy district. It is being projected by the prosecution that the seized cash belonged to me. This is an utter falsehood and lie.”
Rajasekhar Reddy said, “Teegala Vijayendar Reddy, who is son of Bali Reddy, is having so many businesses including the Vardhaman Engineering College, diagnostic centres and hospitals and he may have a turnover of crores of rupees. My relationship with him is nothing more than my wife being a minor stakeholder in their hospital by name ARET. Except for this, I have no connection or relationship with that business group.”
“I have got nothing to do with whatever money that was claimed to have been seized by the SIT. It does not belong to me,” he stressed.
Rajsekhar Reddy used to work as an IT adviser to the YSRC government. He was allegedly involved in collection of kickbacks from the distillery units for supply of liquor to AP. Notably, the YSRC government had withdrawn all top brands of liquor from the government-run outlets and promoted less popular brands of liquor.
He also faces allegations of involvement in cash transactions and diversion of kickbacks collected thus, which were allegedly diverted to the hawala route and in the production of films.
Meanwhile, the enforcement directorate sought details from the SIT about the seized cash at the farm house.
