Andhra Pradesh: YSR Congress Party leader and former Minister Jogi Ramesh along with his brother Jogi Ramu has been sent to judicial custody till November 13 in connection with the spurious liquor case. The duo, arrested on Sunday, was presented before a magistrate at his residence in the early hours of Monday.
After reviewing the police remand report and hearing the arguments, the magistrate pronounced the order around 5 a.m., remanding both brothers to judicial custody. They were later shifted to Vijayawada Central Jail under police escort.
According to officials, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is currently probing the fake liquor case, arrested Jogi Ramesh from his residence in Ibrahimpatnam, NTR district, early Sunday morning. His brother Ramu was also detained around the same time.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) grilled former minister Jogi Ramesh and his brother Jogi Ramu for nearly 12 hours at the Excise Department office in Vijayawada. Close to midnight, the duo was taken to a government hospital for medical examination before being presented before the magistrate at his residence later that night.
According to SIT sources, Ramesh was questioned based on statements made by Addepalli Janardhana Rao, the prime accused in the case, who alleged that the spurious liquor was manufactured under Ramesh’s directions.
In a viral video that surfaced last month, Janardhana Rao claimed he had stopped producing spurious liquor soon after the TDP-led NDA came to power, but that Ramesh had allegedly called him in April this year, instructing him to resume production. He further claimed that the former minister had promised him ₹3 crore to set up a distillery in Africa.
Janardhana Rao reportedly told investigators that the illegal liquor production had begun in 2023, when Jogi Ramesh was serving as a minister. Before leaving for Africa, he said he had visited Ramesh’s residence in Ibrahimpatnam on September 23.
Interestingly, Jogi Ramesh’s arrest came just a day after he moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court, seeking a CBI probe into the sensational spurious liquor case.
Jogi Ramesh has alleged that the coalition government is attempting to frame him in the spurious liquor case for political motives. He claimed that the investigation being carried out by the state police is biased and influenced, leaving little room for a fair inquiry.
The YSRCP leader argued that only an independent Central agency like the CBI can conduct an impartial investigation. In his petition, he urged the High Court to direct that the probe into the two FIRs registered at Mulakalacheruvu and Bhavanipuram police stations be handed over to the CBI.
Ramesh also sought a CBI inquiry into his October 15 complaint, filed after a video statement by prime accused Addepalli Janardhana Rao surfaced while he was in police custody. Ramesh alleged that the video was recorded under pressure, questioning its credibility.
Meanwhile, the YSR Congress Party strongly condemned Ramesh’s arrest, calling it illegal and politically motivated. Party president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy accused Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of orchestrating the arrest to divert public attention from allegations involving himself and other TDP leaders in the spurious liquor case.
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