Don confesses to smuggling liquor
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Liquor don B. Balraj Goud, 47, confessed to the Anti-Corruption Bureau that he had the inter-state border checkposts in his control to smuggle non-duty paid liquor into the state from Haryana, Karnataka and Maharashtra. He was remanded to judicial custody on Wednesday till April 17. He was arrested on Tuesday while fleeing to Kolkata from Bengaluru. Counsel for the liquor syndicate leader Vivekvardhan Reddy moved a bail petition on Wednesday.
ACB DG Boobathi Babu, describing his modus operandi, said, “Balraj obtained licences for all the wine shops in benami names of his relatives and arranged finances for them. He had a communication network with vehicles and mobile phones to shops and belt shops and managed the enforcement agencies by paying bribes regularly to ensure they did not obstruct him.” Balraj established a team of four each, which he called “raiding parties” to distribute liquor to all wine shops, including belt shops.
The money flow was also established by the ACB. The earnest money deposit and first installment of bid amount of all the shops were paid from his account at the Barkatpura branch of Indian Bank. DDs were taken from the State Bank of Hyderabad, Shadnagar branch, for lifting stocks from government depots to be supplied to the liquor shops located in Shadnagar. The other shops, those that got their liquor from the Andhra Pradesh Beverages Corporation Ltd (APBCL), were given DDs taken from nearby banks.
According to the ACB, Balraj entered into an agreement with the license holders, mentioning details of the percentage of share, and registered these agreements with the Registrar of Firms. A resident of Himayat-nagar, Balraj owns seven bars and restaurants in the twin cities and 28 wine shops in and around Hyderabad and in Mahabubnagar and Medak districts. He rose from being a toddy tapper to arrack contractor and finally, a liquor businessman.
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