VISAKHAPATNAM: Officials of Anti Corruption Bureau have intensified their action against the nexus existing between liquor syndicates and politicians in Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam districts. On Friday night, they detained seven persons, allegedly owners of benami liquor shops in Vizianagram district, and had questioned them. However, six of them were arrested on saturday night after the interrogation.The arrested licensed shop owners are M Ramulu, R Kurma Naidu, V Srinivas Rao, K Narayanappadu, N Gangadhar Rao and Durga Rao. They are are BPL card holders.Sources told that the officials were supposed to be producing the accused on Sunday, but due to their failure to reach the court on time, the ACB judge left.Subsequently, the officials brought the accused before Mahila Court judge who sent them to one-day judicial remand. It's likely that they would be produced before ACB court on Monday.Meanwhile, a team led by joint director of ACB are trying to find out the persons behind the arrested men who might have financially supported them to bid for the liquor excise auction held in 2010, as the suspects are BPL holders. AR Srinivasa Rao, ACB joint director, denied having found any clue which can allude to the involvement of any politician. He said, he would soon start off the operation in Visakhpatanam and Srikakulam districts.ACB officials had conducted a series of search operation at a number of places in Vizianagaram district in March, 2012 following a news report that some of wine shops were allotted to ghost bidders who were working as a casual labourers in the same shops.It's ironic that most of the wine shop owners are BPL card holders who bid lakhs of rupees to get the licence during 2010 auction. Out of 202 wine shop owners, 112 hold BPL card.
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