Chandrababu Targets Midhun Reddy Again: SIT Raids MP’s Hyderabad Home and Office

Days after YSRCP leader Midhun Reddy was released on bail from Rajahmundry Central Jail in connection with the alleged liquor scam, the Chandrababu Naidu government has once again focused its attention on the Rajampeta MP.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged scam conducted fresh searches at Midhun Reddy’s residence and office in Hyderabad. Reddy, who was arrested on July 20 and released just two weeks ago, had already been questioned and had his residence searched multiple times prior to his arrest.

The renewed scrutiny follows Midhun Reddy’s letter to the Union Home Ministry, urging a CBI probe into the rampant trade of spurious liquor in Andhra Pradesh. Observers suggest that his demand for central intervention may have prompted the TDP government to intensify its actions against the MP. The latest raids come as the MP has filed a petition seeking permission to travel to the United States.

In his strongly worded appeal to the Centre, the YSRCP Rajampet MP described the spurious liquor trade as a “deep-rooted and dangerous” racket threatening lives across Andhra Pradesh and beyond. He called for an immediate CBI-led investigation, warning that the menace has outgrown the capacity of local enforcement agencies.

Labeling the trade a “national-level organized crime,” he highlighted that methanol-laced counterfeit liquor is claiming innocent lives, predominantly among the poor who are deceived into buying fake liquor packaged under trusted brand names. He emphasized that the issue is not merely law-and-order-related but a pressing public health emergency requiring coordinated central action.

Revealing details from his own constituency, he noted, “At Mulakalacheruvu in Annamayya district, enforcement officials unearthed a major counterfeit liquor unit. Thousands of bottles, caps, and packaging materials were seized — clear evidence of an inter-district, inter-state nexus operating with alarming efficiency.”

Under pressure from the YSRCP, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently constituted another SIT to investigate the matter. However, the YSRCP has challenged the TDP government to hand over the case to the CBI, alleging that TDP leaders are involved in the racket. YSRCP leaders claimed that the SIT was constituted to shield the real culprits in the spurious liquor trade.