Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday announced the launch of the A.P. Excise Suraksha App, designed to help the government curb the menace of spurious liquor by enabling consumers to verify the quality of alcohol sold at licensed outlets. The app will be fully operational from October 16 and available for download on Google Play Store from Monday, October 13.
Addressing media, Mr. Naidu said the app will track the manufacturing and sale details of liquor bottles scanned by consumers or sellers. It will also be geo-tagged with authorised shops to prevent diversion of liquor to unauthorised outlets, commonly known as belt shops.
Referring to the spurious liquor racket recently busted at Mulakalacheruvu in Annamayya district, the Chief Minister said the illegal operation was linked to traders based in Ibrahimpatnam near Vijayawada, with connections traced as far as Africa. “The process of exposing those involved is under way,” he said.
So far, 16 of the 23 accused have been arrested, and transit warrants issued for four suspects hiding abroad.
Mr. Naidu said the government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Inspector-General of Police G. V. G. Ashok Kumar. The SIT also includes Director of Enforcement, Prohibition and Excise Rahul Dev Sharma, CID SP K. Chakravarthy, IPS officer Malika Garg, and an Excise Department expert. It will probe the Mulakalacheruvu incident and prepare a roadmap to revamp the excise administration system.
