The Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government in Andhra Pradesh appears to be going all out to fix YSR Congress Party MP from Rajampet constituency, Peddireddy Mithun Reddy, in connection with the liquor scam that allegedly took place during the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government.
The state government has gathered substantial evidence, which it has submitted to the state high court to establish Mithun Reddy’s involvement. He has been named Accused No. 4 (A-4) in the liquor scam.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, arguing on behalf of the Crime Investigation Department (CID), told the high court on Monday that Mithun Reddy was instrumental in formulating the liquor policy, executing it, and ensuring that orders were awarded only to companies that paid bribes.
“Money obtained through corruption was routed to shell companies. Around ₹5 crore was transferred from Decart Logistics Pvt. Ltd. (Accused No. 16) to the bank account of PLR Projects Pvt. Ltd., which is fully owned by Mithun Reddy’s family,” Luthra stated.
He pointed out that even though the funds were later returned to Decart Logistics after the scam surfaced, they eventually made their way back to Mithun Reddy in different forms.
“The scam has caused an estimated ₹3,500 crore loss to the state exchequer,” the CID counsel said.
The CID maintains that custodial interrogation of Mithun Reddy is essential to trace the final beneficiaries of the illicit funds.
Some co-accused have expressed willingness to turn approvers and record their statements before the magistrate. The CID also noted that Mithun Reddy has a criminal background.
While earlier bail petitions lacked substantial evidence, the CID now claims to possess strong proof. Witnesses and co-accused have specifically named Mithun Reddy, and the CID has filed a memo in the lower court formally naming him as an accused.
Due to lack of time for complete arguments, Justice T. Mallikarjuna Rao adjourned the hearing to Wednesday.
Senior advocate T Niranjan Reddy, appearing for Mithun Reddy, argued that the investigation officer had misled the high court during the earlier bail hearing.
He contended that PLR Projects has no connection to Mithun Reddy and that the ₹5 crore returned to Decart Logistics was purely a financial transaction with no criminal element.
“Mithun Reddy had no role in drafting the liquor policy,” he asserted, adding that other co-accused such as D. Vasudeva Reddy (A-2), Satyaprasad (A-3), and former MP V. Vijayasai Reddy (A-5) have not been arrested.
