7 more booked in Mualakalacheruvu fake liquor case

Tirupati: The ongoing investigation into the Mulakalacheruvu fake liquor racket in Annamayya district has further widened, with the Excise Department naming seven additional suspects. Officials confirmed that a memo detailing the expanded list of accused has been submitted to the Thamballapalle court.

With the latest additions, the number of people charged in the case has climbed to 21. Among the newly listed names are suspended Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Dasaripalli Jayachandra Reddy, now designated as Accused No 17, and his brother-in-law Giridhar Reddy, marked as Accused No 18. The others identified in the latest filing are Balaji, Anbarasu, Ravi, Ashraf, and Sudarshan. Officials said these individuals were drawn into the probe after investigators uncovered fresh evidence connecting them to the production and supply chain of spurious liquor.

The illicit operation, first detected in Mulakalacheruvu, reportedly produced large volumes of counterfeit liquor by blending rectified spirits with malt and caramel. The mixture was then transported to Ibrahimpatnam in the NTR district, where it was bottled and packaged using counterfeit labels of well-known liquor brands.

Earlier searches at the production site and associated warehouses yielded sealing devices, fake holograms, and packaging materials closely resembling those of legitimate companies. Investigators have identified Addepalli Janardhan Rao as the mastermind behind the operation, allegedly assisted by his brother Jagan Mohan Rao and several others. The group is believed to have coordinated the manufacturing and distribution network across multiple districts. Authorities are still pursuing Janardhan Rao, who is suspected to have fled abroad, while surveillance teams in Bengaluru continue tracking the movements of his known associates.