Andhra Liquor Scam: Key Accused Arrested After Dubai Return

Andhra Pradesh Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) has apprehended Eshwar Kiran Kumar Reddy, a central figure in an alleged multi-thousand-crore liquor scam during the previous YSR Congress Party administration. Reddy, who had been a fugitive for two years, was detained at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Monday night after arriving from Dubai via Sri Lanka.

Reddy was presented before an ACB court in Vijayawada and remanded to 14 days' judicial custody. Authorities state he is accused of establishing shell companies to launder kickback money generated from the liquor distribution network. He reportedly fled to Dubai in November 2024 as the probe intensified under the new Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government.

With 12 arrests made so far, Reddy's return was prompted by the Supreme Court's rejection of his anticipatory bail plea on July 30, which ordered him to surrender. The SIT's charge sheet filed on July 19 accuses Reddy and prime accused Raj Kesireddy of floating shell companies to divert illicit commissions from liquor operations.

Reddy, an IIT Kharagpur engineering graduate and son of a police constable, allegedly became a principal operative in the scam after connecting with Kesireddy, the former IT advisor to the state government. He is also under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate for separate money laundering cases related to liquor irregularities.