PCC president and transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana, who had the upper hand over Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy after the transfer of ACB additional director K. Srinivasa Reddy, will now be running for cover with the HC monitoring the case. The ACB, in its report, said that it is an organised crime where people own licences for liquor shops under benami names. The ACB probe has already shown the money flow and how white ration card holders pay lakhs of rupees to bag the shops in auction.

A case was registered on March 3 pertaining to the fraud committed in the auction of liquor shops in Vizianagaram district in 2010. There are 202 licence holders in this district, of which 103 possess white ration cards. Three licence holders were issued cards under the Antyodaya scheme. Nine licence holders possess temporary ration cards. Initial inquiry of the Vizianagaram syndicate revealed that 33 licence holders are working as petty employees in the same wine shops which they are supposed to own.

The ACB, in its report, said, “Several wine shops bear similar trade names that possibly indicate that they are controlled by one or more group of persons. They have accomplished their object of gaining control over more than 50 per cent of shops in the district with the collusion of the officials, right from the stage of auction and through all these months of running business.”

The report also said, “Licence owners of wine shops and bars formed informal associations or syndicates. Each syndicate is headed by a leader with the sole aim of making huge profits. The associates are formed for the purpose of coordinating with various enforcement agencies. They have to ensure that there are no obstacles to their illegal acts.”

The violations include sale of liquor at more than the MRP, opening of shops beyond the stipulated hours, operation of belt shops, loose sales at the shops, sale of non-duty paid liquor and spurious liquor. In the district, between 15 and 40 per cent of liquor shop owners are shown to be below the poverty line, holding white ration cards, and thus considered to be benamis. The investigating agency has also found that the liquor syndicates have their own way of evading income tax. According to the SIT, liquor shops have taken demand drafts for Rs 40,000 to avoid being noticed by the I-T department in the bank transactions. The ACB booked four more cases of fraud in liquor shop auctions in West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Prakasham.

The ACB found that liquor syndicate leader Nunna Venkata Ramana had a partnership in 29 wine shops in syndicates in Khammam and Warangal. Mr Ramana confessed that he paid Rs 10 lakh cash to minister Venkataramana for settling a dispute. The ACB found that the liquor mafia of Viziana-garam has a similar modus operandi to the Khammam mafia led by Mr Ramana. It expects to find similar organised liquor rackets in other districts. Police also arrested one Mohan Reddy, an associate of liquor don Balraj Goud who was arrested a few days ago. Mohan Reddy has 15 wine shops in Medak, Shadnagar in Mahbubnagar and Mominpet in Ranga Reddy. He obtained a licence for his liquor shops in the names of his relatives and workers and formed a syndicate in three districts.