Liquor Bribery Den Operator Prannay Prakash Arrested In Alleged Andhra Pradesh Liquor Scam

Amaravati: The Special Investigation Team's (SIT) charged with probing the alleged Andhra Pradesh liquor scam, has arrested Katta Prannay Prakash (A-52), the manager of the bribery den set up in an apartment near Tadepalli Palace by the syndicate allegedly linked to the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP).

Prakash allegedly played a key role in transferring, from time to time, the money earned from the liquor scam to associates of YSRCP leader Chevireddy Bhaskara Reddy (A-38) for distribution during elections. Prakash was detained at the Sonauli check post on the India-Nepal border while trying to flee to Dubai via Nepal.

SIT officials had previously issued look-out notices on Prakash. Thinking that he would be caught if he tried to escape via India's airports or ports, Prakash first reached Nepal via the dry port near Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh. But, during checks, staff at the border found out that there was a lookout circular on Prakash and informed SIT officials.

A special team from Vijayawada went to UP and detained Prakash. He was produced in court in Maharajganj to obtain a transit warrant, and will be brought to Vijayawada on Wednesday, where he will be produced in the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court for remand. With this, the number of people arrested in the liquor scam case has reached 17.

Bribes To YSRCP Candidates

Prakash used to run the liquor bribery den from Flat No 312 in Landmark Apartments, near Tadepalli Palace. Representatives of distilleries and liquor suppliers used to bring bribes and hand them over. In each installment, they would stuff Rs 20-25 lakh of the cash in cardboard boxes. Prakash would hand over that money to associates of Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy (A-38), who would then transfer the money to YSRCP candidates for election expenses and allegedly, to buy votes.

After the YSRCP lost the 2024 elections, a gang of liquor barons summoned Prakash to the office of Raj Kesireddy, the main accused in Rs 3,200-crore Andhra Pradesh liquor scam, in Hyderabad's Jubilee Hills, took away all his phones and destroyed them. Then they sent him to Dubai. Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy and Raj Kesireddy, who had tried to set up an iron ore factory in Tanzania with the money from the liquor bribes, sent Prakash to Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zambia, and other countries, to study the feasibility of the project.

On January 31, 2025, a team of Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy, Chevireddy Mohit Reddy, and their close friend CH Venkatesh Naidu, went to Tanzania and met Prakash. The SIT found that Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy had instructed Prakash not to tell anyone about the distribution of liquor bribe money in elections.

Only Brands That Paid Bribes Could Sell Liquor

At IIT, Prakash was a classmate of T Eshwar Kiran Kumar Reddy, an accused in the liquor scam case. He worked as the operations manager of Dekart Logistics. After the YSRCP came to power in 2019, Prakash was entrusted with the Kiran Kumar Reddy Field Monitoring Project by Raj Kesireddy. The main task of this project was to ensure that only those liquor brands that paid bribes to the YSRCP gang, were allowed to be sold in government shops.

He worked in Raj Kesireddy's office in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, for some years, as a Principal Associate in the Field Operation Agency Project. He set up a call centre in Visakhapatnam and used to draw a salary of around Rs 1 lakh from Ram Info Limited. Up to 100 people worked in the Visakhapatnam call centre. Every day, all of them used to call volunteers at the village and ward secretariats to collect data.

In June last year, Prakash was brought to India from Dubai by SIT officials. When interrogated at length, he gave a statement before the judicial officer regarding the irregularities that had taken place during his time. Afterwards, he tried to flee abroad so that he wouldn't have to cooperate with the probe. That's when a look-out circular was issued. Finally, he has been caught now.

Also Read:

1. Andhra Pradesh Liquor Scam: Ex-Minister, YSRCP Leaders, Their Relatives In List Of Accused
2. Andhra Liquor Scam | Salesmen, Office Boys Named As 'Directors' Of 32 Shell Firms; Rs 77.55 Crore Routed Through Multi-Layer Network, Says SIT
3. SC On Andhra Liquor Scam: 'How Can It Happen Without Active Criminal Conspiracy Of Bureaucrats?'
4. Rs 1000 Crore Andhra Liquor Scam: Mumbai Bullion Dealer, Shell Companies, And YSRCP Links Under SIT Probe