Amaravati, Oct 12 : Andhra Pradesh government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT to probe the Mulakalacheruvu spurious liquor case.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday announced that the SIT will be headed by Eluru Range Inspector of Police GVG Ashok Kumar. SIT members are IPS officers Rahul Dev Varma, Mallika Garg, and K. Chakravarthi. An expert from the Excise Department will also be a member of the SIT.

The Chief Minister told a press conference that SIT will conduct a thorough investigation of the case and total revamping of the system.

The Chief Minister said 23 accused have been identified in this case, and of them, 16 persons have been arrested, including the main accused, Janardhan.

Chandrababu Naidu said that he suspended one Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader also immediately for his alleged role in the issue. The Chief Minister made it clear that the government will act tough on the accused irrespective of their political affiliations, and there is no question of shielding anyone who tried to escape in a political guise.

The Chief Minister said that the spurious liquor is said to be rooted in Africa, and some people are conspiring to implement the same pattern in Andhra Pradesh. He claimed that the TDP leaders are the first ones to highlight the spurious liquor case in Mulakalacheruvu.

The Chief Minister expressed surprise over some parties demanding a CBI inquiry into the spurious liquor case to escape from the case. He said during the previous government, own brands were promoted and the entire system was legalised by owning shops, transport and distilleries forcefully.

He said the ganja cultivation was made as a commercial crop, and the drug menace increased during 2019-24. He said those who are resorting to crimes in the guise of politics are now resorting to false campaign on spurious liquor, blaming the government. Naidu said action will be taken against those who resort to false campaign. He said the previous government failed to react, even though 27 people died in Jangareddygudem, and is now blaming the state government for a false campaign.

The Chief Minister also strictly warned Excise department staff and officials to act as per law, or else they will face action for their wrongdoings.

He said the state government introduced the AP Excise Suraksha App to curb the spurious liquor menace. The app will help trace the manufacturing and selling details of the liquor bottle.

A liquor shop owner should scan the bottle before selling the bottle to a consumer. The consumer can also scan the bottle to know whether it is a real one or spurious liquor. He said the app will help curb the belt shop menace as the shop will be geo-tagged.

/IANS