JOIN USReconsider SIT chiefs transfer, HC tells AP
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday asked the state government to reconsider the transfer of K Srinivasa Reddy, head of the Special Investigation Team probing the clandestine deals of the liquor mafia in the state.
Two weeks back, Reddy was transferred as head of the coastal security wing, with Shivdhar Reddy replacing him. The move had created a furore in the state with the government being accused of trying to disrupt the investigation into the shady nexus between the liquor syndicate and their patrons comprising politicians and the police.
“Honest and upright officers should be given confidence and security of tenure in public interest,” the court said, setting a deadline of Friday before the government to revert on the issue. Besides, the court said there was no good reason for Reddy’s transfer, especially since Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) chief Bhoopathi Babu objected to the move.
“Cort permission must have been sought before transferring the officer,” the court said.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau on Monday submitted its report on the liquor syndicates functioning in the state to the court in a sealed cover. The contents of the status report into cognisance, the court has asked the probe agency to join hands with the Income-Tax department to investigate how white card holders and members of below poverty line families owned crores of rupees.
Earlier, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, APCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana, Excise minister Mopidevi Venkatramana and Telegu Desum Party chief Chandrababu Naidu were sent notices in the case.
Meanwhile, speculations are rife that Reddy’s transfer was an outcome of the truce between the chief minister and Satyanarayana. The APCCchief had recently admitted that his relatives own 32 liquor outlets in Vizianagaram. Excise officials there have reportedly received bribes up to Rs. 3.58 crore. Despite the setback in Reddy’s transfer, the ACBhas nabbed a key member of the liquor syndicate Balaraj Goud, owner of seven bar and restaurants and 28 wine shops in and around Hyderabad. Goud, who had been on a run since January following his involvement in the bribery case, admitted that the government is duped of taxes for 75 per cent of the liquor sold in the state.