HYDERABAD: Several politicians and their kin from both AP and Telangana states have been chargesheeted in the liquor syndicates case by ACB sleuths.

Former minister and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana's brother Botsa Adinaryana, former minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, son of former minister Dharmana Prasada Rao were charged with being a part of the liquor syndicate scam.

A legislator from Kurnool, Kesava Reddy, and a corporator from Visakhapatnam against whom the ACB has already filed its chargesheet in various criminal courts in both Telangana and AP states, have also been charged.

Earlier, Governor ESL Narasimhan gave sanction to prosecute more than 34 bureaucrats involved in the scam and chargesheets have been filed against all of them. The ACB filed a status report before a division bench of Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P V Sanjay Kumar of the High Court.

ACB counsel V Ravi Kiran Rao told the bench that they had completed investigation in all the cases and chargesheets were also filed in various courts and some courts have already started hearing them. Interestingly several witnesses who were scared of deposing before the ACB all these years are now freely coming forward to give their statements against the former bigwigs. With their help, the ACB has charged Botsa's brother as having control over 17 benami liquor shops in Vizianagaram area, Mopidevi as a recipient of Rs 10 lakh as bribe from a syndicate member Nunna Venkata Ramana of Khammam district. Similarly, Dharmana's son and PA were shown as accomplices in the scam. The ACB, with the help of call data records, could establish some evidence about the links these powerful men have with the syndicate leaders and excise officials.

The ACB wing of the AP has filed chargesheets against Dharmana Ram Manohar Naidu, son of former minister Dharmana Prasad Rao, and P Appa Rao, private personal assistant of Prasad Rao and C Venkata Satyanarayana and Chinna Appalanaidu a corporator of Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation in Visakhapatnam ACB Court.

ACB sleuths told the court that charges against the MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna were not proved in the probe and hence he was discharged from the case. The AP wing also filed chargesheet against Botsa Adinarayana alias Seshu in Visakhapatnam ACB court and a chargesheet in Kurnool against former MLA Y Chenna Kesava Reddy.

Advocate general of AP, P Venugopalsought three months time to file a status report. The bench granted him time and posted the case to three months for hearing and for review of the progress.