Andhra liquor scam: CID chargesheet reveals CMO officials pressured top bureaucrat to ignore irregularities

Both the former CMO officials are under remand now. The chargesheet said these two CMO officials repeatedly pressured Dr Bhargava to avoid taking action against Vasudeva Reddy, named accused No.2 and Satya Prasad, accused No.3.

Hyderabad: The second chargesheet filed by the CID into the alleged liquor scam in Andhra Pradesh has revealed that two key officials in the then Chief Minister's Office (CMO) between 2019 and 2024 in the YSRCP government systematically interfered with regulatory oversight, pressuring the then-Special Chief Secretary of the Excise Department, Dr Rajat Bhargava, to refrain from taking action against identified irregularities.

The chargesheet that was filed by the CID in a Vijayawada court on Monday and seen by DH said that Dr Rajat Bhargava served as Special Chief Secretary for Revenue (Commercial Taxes, Excise, Registration and Stamps) during the period in question detailed the alleged complicity of two CMO officials K Dhananjaya Reddy, Secretary to the then Chief Minister and P Krishna Mohan Reddy, another CMO official who served as OSD.

Both the former CMO officials are under remand now.

The chargesheet said these two CMO officials repeatedly pressured Dr Bhargava to avoid taking action against, D Vasudeva Reddy, Managing Director, APSBCL who was named accused number two and Satya Prasad Special Officer, APSBCL, who is accused three in the case.

The chargesheet said that on April 19, 2022, Dr Rajat Bhargava issued a formal memo directing the MD and Special Officer of APSBCL to submit compliance reports addressing several critical irregularities like inadequate brand indenting based on market demand, poor renewal procedures for liquor brands, deficient marketing procedures and failure to submit proposals for adequate supply of approved liquor brands to retail outlets, citing unacceptable technical reasons

Following the initial directive, Bhargava issued multiple reminder memos demanding compliance on May 9, July 12, August 9, September 20, November 29 in 2022 and also on January 27, 2023.

Despite these repeated directives, the MD and Special Officer provided neither explanations nor compliance reports. Bhargava regularly informed Secretary Dhanunjaya Reddy about this reckless disregard for official directives.

The situation escalated on December 5, 2023, when Bhargava issued memo summoning the MD and Special Officer to appear in person. When questioned about compliance with previous memos, they provided no explanations or corrective measures.

Significantly, the officials attempted to pressure Bhargava into signing backdated documents to retroactively legitimize government actions related to excise policy, particularly regarding the conferral of powers to issue Off-Shop (OFS) licenses to Special Officer Satya Prasad. Bhargava refused to sign these documents.

The chargesheet further revealed that despite identifying these irregularities and illegalities in 2022, the government took no disciplinary action or corrective measures. Bhargava specifically testified that he received direct communications from both Dhananjaya Reddy and Krishna Mohan Reddy instructing him to cease issuing memos regarding APSBCL operations.