Andhra liquor scam | SIT arrests former IAS officer and Jagan's former Officer on Special Duty

Hyderabad: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the TDP government to investigate the alleged liquor scam during the YSRCP regime arrested two key persons on Friday. K Dhanunjay Reddy, former IAS officer who served as Chief Minister's Secretary, and P Krishnamohan Reddy, who was the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Chief Minister, between 2019 and 2024 were taken into custody.

The SIT revealed that both were arrested Friday evening after three days of intensive questioning, during which clear evidence of their involvement in the liquor scam emerged. Sources indicated that the SIT interrogated them for approximately nine hours on Friday alone.

In the ongoing investigation, Dhanunjay Reddy has been as Accused No. 31 and Krishnamohan Reddy as Accused No. 32. The SIT recently added these two officials, along with Bharati Cements full-time Director Govindappa Balaji, to the list of accused in the liquor scam allegedly worth thousands of crores during the YSRCP regime. Govindappa, listed as the 33rd accused, was arrested earlier on Tuesday.

Both Dhanunjaya Reddy and Krishnamohan Reddy were widely regarded as the "eyes and ears" of former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in the CMO between 2019 and 2024, wielding significant influence over state administration.

Their arrests followed the Supreme Court's direction on Thursday to dismiss their anticipatory bail petitions. The court observed that the investigation was at a critical stage and stated it would not intervene. The bench noted that granting anticipatory bail could potentially hinder the ongoing investigation.

The petitioners' counsel argued that there was no substantial evidence beyond a few statements and emphasized that both officials had been fully cooperating with investigators, having already undergone 12 hours of questioning and not attempting to evade authorities. They maintained that they had no direct role in liquor policy decisions and were merely performing administrative duties such as organizing meetings in their capacity as officials. According to the petitioners, the central allegation that liquor orders were unfairly allocated to certain groups had already been dismissed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), suggesting no wrongdoing.

The opposition YSRCP strongly condemned the arrests, characterizing them as acts of political vengeance and an attack on democratic institutions. Botsa Satyanarayana, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, accused Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu of pursuing political vendetta that undermines the state's administrative systems. He alleged that authorities were fabricating evidence and filing false cases, even against retired officials, despite the absence of concrete proof.

Former Chief Whip Gadikota Srikanth Reddy expressed concern that political retribution had reached alarming levels in Andhra Pradesh, noting that several IAS and IPS officers had already been unfairly suspended. He warned that targeting sincere officials like Dhanunjaya Reddy and Krishna Mohan Reddy would not distract the public from what he described as Chandrababu's governance failures and unfulfilled promises.