In a significant blow to the political status quo of Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Party Lok Sabha MP PV Midhun Reddy was arrested on Saturday after being questioned for hours by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Vijayawada into an alleged ₹3,200 crore liquor scam.
The arrest was made at around 7:30 PM according to officials close to the investigations. Midhun Reddy came before the SIT earlier in the day and was taken into custody after extensive questioning relating to violations of the excise policy in force in the state.
The FIR filed by the CID in Mangalagiri, the head of the state’s Crime Investigation Department, accuses Midhun Reddy of committing violations of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act. The probe is focused on serious violations in the implementation of the excise policy from 2019 to 2024.
Investigators assert that a conspiracy was hatched with a plan to unlawfully benefit certain liquor distilleries and suppliers irresponsibly costing taxpayers’ money and causing financial losses to the state exchequer.
Excise Scam Timeline Unfolds
The arrest of PV Midhun Reddy follows a series of earlier arrests in the same case. Those previously held include Dhanunjay Reddy, Krishna Mohan Reddy, and Balaji Govindappa figures reportedly connected to the same irregularities under investigation. The SIT has been closely tracking financial flows and decision-making processes within the excise department during the YSRCP government’s tenure.
YSRCP Hits Back, Alleges Political Targeting
The YSR Congress Party issued a scathing indictment of the state’s leadership in response to the arrest, specifically taking aim at the state Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, for using his position to malign inflict a sustained injury to its leadership. Senior party leader Malladi Vishnu viewed the arrest as an extension of a larger “vindictive conspiracy” to eliminate the YSRCP.
“This is nothing but an effort to weaken YSRCP by going after the leaders close to our party leader Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy,” Vishnu said. “We will return, and concretise Chandrababu Naidu’s failures, and the corruption of the coalition government.”
Political Divisions in Andhra Pradesh
The arrest is certain to complicate political relations between the ruling coalition and the YSRCP. The state is currently still feeling its way through government under a new Chief Minister Naidu and the opposition’s claim of political vendetta will be sure to encourage distrust, before the next elections.
Currently, Midhun Reddy is still in custody, and the CID will likely file a more detailed chargesheet once they gather more evidence. It is already a political and legal matter that is being closely watched in Andhra Pradesh.
