Acting on a tip-off, Jaggaiahpet police seized 283 illegal liquor bottles from a car belonging to a member of Vijayawada Kanaka Durga Temple trust board, police said on Thursday. Four persons, including the son of board member Chakka Naga Varalakshmi, have been arrested in this connection.
Meanwhile Varalakshmi has resigned from the temple trust board.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Vakul Jindal, Special Enforcement Bureau, told reporters here that Jaggaiahpet police had received credible information on Wednesday about illegal liquor being smuggled in a car from neighbouring Telangana. "We found the car parked at an apartment in Jaggaiahpet town, from which 283 liquor bottles worth around Rs 55,000 were recovered. We came to know that Varalakshmi's son Chakka Surya Prakash and one Pustepalli Prasanna brought the liquor from an alcohol shop in Kodada of Telangana, owned by one Naveen."
He added initially the diver of the car, Sammatana Siva, tried to misguide the police by claiming that the vehicle belonged to him and that he had brought the liquor from Telangana to sell in Andhra Pradesh.
"But on further inquiry, we came to know that Surya Prakash and Prasanna brought the liquor," he said.
Jindal added that a case was registered against all four and they were arrested.
Meanwhile, the Kanaka Durga Temple trust Chairman Paila Sominaidu and Executive Officer M V Suresh Babu released a statement, saying that the member in question has resigned, owing moral responsibility. The chairman has accepted her resignation, it added.
"Yesterday (Wednesday), liquor bottles were found in a car, bearing a plate 'Temple Trust Board Member', in Jaggaiahpet town. In the wake of those developments, trust board member Chakka Venkata Naga Varalakshmi has sent her resignation letter... owing moral responsibility," it said.
"Her decision of resignation is apt and correct... All facts will be revealed in the police investigation. Until then the chairman has accepted the resignation of Chakka Venkata Naga Varalakshmi...," read the statement.
( With inputs from ANI )
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