Excise minister inspects wine shop, verifies brands

 Vijayawada: Prohibition and excise minister Kollu Ravindra conducted a surprise inspection at a wine shop located on Sambamurthy Road here on Tuesday. He was accompanied by excise commissioner Ch Sridhar. During the visit, the minister verified liquor brands using the AP Excise Suraksha app, which enables consumers to check whether a liquor brand is genuine or spurious. After completing the inspection, he held a review meeting with all excise officials and staff through video conference.

Speaking to the media later, Ravindra accused YSRCP leaders of attempting to defame the government by spreading false propaganda. He alleged that during the previous YSRCP regime, several people had lost their lives due to the circulation of fake liquor. To prevent such incidents, the NDA coalition government introduced a new Liquor Policy and allotted wine shops in a transparent manner, he said.

The minister said that one of the accused in the fake liquor scam, Janardhana Rao, had exposed the conspiracy behind the racket. Ravindra further criticised YSRCP leaders for linking unrelated deaths to liquor cases, citing an example where a man who died of dehydration in Nellore was falsely associated with liquor consumption.

He assured that the government would probe every case thoroughly and take stern action against those involved, irrespective of their political or social background. Ravindra also warned wine shop owners against running unauthorized belt shops, cautioning that strict action would be taken against violators.

He urged consumers to buy liquor only from authorized outlets and to report any suspicious activity to excise officials. The Minister made it clear that those trying to politicize the fake liquor issue would not be spared.