Fresh revelations in Andhra Pradesh’s liquor sector have exposed what investigators describe as a deeply entrenched network of manipulation and financial damage during the previous YSRCP regime. What began as allegations of irregularities in liquor supply orders has now widened into a major transport contract scandal that reportedly cost the state exchequer hundreds of crores.
According to the FIR registered by the Andhra Pradesh CID, irregularities between 2020 and 2024 in liquor transportation from APSBCL depots to government retail outlets resulted in an estimated loss of ₹200 to ₹400 crore. Investigations by Vigilance and Enforcement reportedly uncovered systematic overpricing, tender rigging, and blatant violations of established procurement norms.
Earlier, transportation contracts were finalized at the district level by committees led by Joint Collectors. The approved rate was ₹13 per liquor case. However, rules were allegedly altered to centralize the process at the APSBCL level. A private entity, Sigma Logistics, reportedly secured the contract at ₹34 per case. That meant a margin of ₹21 per case. APSBCL is said to have paid nearly ₹450 crore to the firm, raising serious concerns about inflated billing and structured profiteering.
Investigators suspect that the transport network was divided regionally among influential political leaders. Sub contracts were allegedly distributed across districts through benami firms and proxies. Names of former ministers and regional political functionaries have surfaced in complaints, though the final list of accused in the CID FIR is yet to be publicly confirmed. The government has constituted a Special Investigation Team under Vijayawada Police Commissioner S V Rajasekhar Babu to probe the matter further.
The scale of the alleged misconduct raises a larger question. Was this an isolated transport contract manipulation or part of a broader liquor policy exploitation? Earlier accusations already pointed to massive kickbacks in liquor supply orders amounting to thousands of crores. Now transport margins appear to have been another layer in the same ecosystem.
Authorities are also moving to attach properties allegedly purchased using diverted funds. Permission has been granted to approach the ACB Court in Vijayawada to initiate asset seizure proceedings linked to individuals accused of siphoning off ₹5.80 crore from a storage location tied to the case.
As investigations continue, the emerging picture suggests that the liquor sector may have been used as a revenue extraction mechanism rather than a regulated public distribution system.
