The money which was collected in the form of kickbacks, was shared among the voters in the General Elections-2024 as an inducement for the voters to cast their votes for the YSRCP party. The initial chargesheet in the liquor scam, more than 300 pages submitted in the Vijayawada court on Saturday and seen by DH, outlined how the illegal money had its origin in illegal kickbacks that were obtained from liquor makers and sellers.
These monies were purportedly routed through intermediaries and shell firms under the direct direction and patronage of politically exposed individuals. The SIT noticed that an automatic Order for Supply (OFS) system was replaced by a manual system after YSRCP took power, providing scope for manipulation.
While probing, SIT teams discovered that these amounts of money were kept at various safe houses and apartments in Hyderabad and Tadepalli in Andhra Pradesh. Syndicate members in Hyderabad supplied cash consignments, which were packed in cartons and moved discreetly using official government vehicles such as Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) as well as private lorries.
Interestingly, in this case, one of the accused, the son of former MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, Chevireddy Mohith Reddy was TUDA chairman between 2023 and 2024 when money was shipped for election use.
Also read: Andhra liquor scam: Chargesheet not names Ex-CM Jagan as accused
The operation evaded security inspections on account of political influence. "It has been found that the money was shipped several times between late 2023 and the 2024 general elections, with each trip carrying between ₹8–12 crore.". Individual consignments were delivered at specific places, such as Podili, Ongole, and Kavali, where the funds were utilised to organise YSRCP candidates' election campaigns and disburse cash to voters. The whole cash logistics business was managed by then Chandragiri MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, Balaji Kumar Yadav and Naveen, and they were assisted by other TUDA drivers and close associates," a senior officer of SIT informed DH.
A final batch of around ₹8.36 crore was nabbed by police at Garikapadu check post a few days ago when it was concealed in a lorry specially designed to hide cash boxes. "This cash seizure also proves that the syndicate employed intimidation, official powers, abuse of government vehicles, and bulk cash movement to interfere in the election process, thus breaching several provisions under the IPC, Representation of the People Act, and Prevention of Corruption Act. This was also supported by the testimonies of witnesses," said the SIT's senior official.
In the meantime, the SIT charge sheet openly stated that the crime money eventually reached the then chief minister, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. Additionally, owners of some distilleries were threatened by the minions of Jagan and friends to walk the new excise policy plank.
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