Amaravati, June 18 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Police have arrested YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) general secretary Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy in the multi-crore liquor scam.

He was intercepted at the Kempe Gowda International Airport in Bengaluru by immigration officials on Tuesday night as a lookout notice was issued against him by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the scam. He was allegedly trying to fly abroad.

The immigration authorities informed the Andhra Pradesh Police. The SIT team arrested Bhaskar Reddy and his aide Venkatesh Naidu in the early hours of Wednesday. Both were being brought to Vijayawada, where they will be produced before the ACB court.

The SIT informed the court on Tuesday that it has included six individuals, including Bhaskar Reddy, as the accused in the case.

Bhaskar Reddy, a former MLA from Chandragiri, is listed as the 38th accused in the case. The SIT has so far arrested 39 accused in the case.

The YSRCP leader said he had no role in the liquor scam that purportedly took place during the YSRCP government’s term.

Bhaskar Reddy also accused the SIT of physically assaulting a head constable, N. Madan Reddy, who had served as his gunman for 10 years, in a bid to extract a fake confession on his involvement in the scam.

The head constable has complained to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and the Director General of Police against the alleged high-handed behaviour of the SIT officials.

Meanwhile, Bhaskar Reddy’s son and YSRCP leader Chevireddy Mohith Reddy has condemned the TDP-led coalition government for plotting to falsely implicate Bhaskar Reddy in the “so-called” liquor scam.

He alleged that SIT officials were using coercion and police force to extract false statements from former gunmen of Bhaskar Reddy.

Mohith Reddy revealed that SIT officers had summoned former gunmen, including Giri and Madan Reddy, and subjected them to physical torture when they refused to provide fabricated statements. He said Madan Reddy was beaten so severely that he had to be hospitalised and is currently under treatment.

He questioned whether refusing to lie against Bhaskar Reddy was a crime and condemned the SIT’s brutal treatment. Mohith Reddy stated that Madan Reddy has filed a petition in the High Court seeking protection from further harassment, which clearly shows how law enforcement is being misused.

–IANS

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