Politicians' names vanish from liquor books

Viajyawada: More skeletons are tumbling out of liquor syndicate cupboards as Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) sleuths of Vijayawada submitted their reports to ACB courts in Hyderabad and Vijayawada on Friday.

Interestingly, the names of politicians, mediapersons and a few other influential people have reportedly vanished from liquor syndicate registers.

A report submitted to ACB courts in Hyderabad and Vijayawada by Vijayawada ACB DSP N Vishnu reveals that total Rs 7,45,126 of mamools were received by police and excise staff from a liquor syndicate between August 1 and December 14 last year.

Led by liquor trader Vennam Umamaheswara Rao, the liquor syndicate runs 11 wine shops/bars in Vijayawada. While the excise staff received Rs 23,375, police took the remaining amount from that syndicate located in Suryaraopet.

The syndicate registers are maintained meticulously and even Rs 50 spent for food supplied to the driver of a police CI was recorded with date and month.

The ACB scrutiny report of the records seized in Vijayawada gives a graphic detail of the bribes offered to police right from a constable to an ACP and to police stations in the city.

The report also included the mamools paid to staff at the office of the deputy commissioner of excise and the excise superintendent in the city.

The ACB report says that Machavaram police station was paid Rs19,500 as monthly payment. The ACP (West Zone) took Rs 8,000.

The report names several ASIs), head constables, traffic constables, beat constables, drivers of SIs and CIs, Blue Colts and others.

However, the names of several politicians and mediapersons who reportedly received kickbacks from liquor syndicates are missing from the registers.ACB sleuths suspect that the names written with pencil were erased from the books.

In their report, the ACB officials stated that they found several blank pages in the register.

It may be recalled that ACB officials had raided the office of the liquor syndicate headed by Umamaheswara Rao at Chalasani Venkata Krishnaiah street in Suryaraopet, on December 16 and arrested S Ramamohan Reddy, the accountant of the syndicate.

According to the ACB officials, they had first submitted the documents seized before the second additional special judge for ACB cases in Hyderabad on December 22, 2011, and got them back for investigation the same day.

It is said there are 335 wine shops/bars in Krishna district, which had formed into 28 syndicates.

The ACB booked syndicate members, public servants and others under sections 7, 8, 12 and 13(1)(a), read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and sections 120B and 109 of the IPC.