Liquor scam: SIT grills Narayanaswamy

Officials of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the liquor scam, went to the residence of former Deputy Chief Minister K. Narayanaswamy in Tirupati and grilled him for a long time.

Mr. Narayanaswamy, who held the Excise portfolio during the erstwhile YSR Congress regime, was supposed to have attend the SIT investigation in Amaravati on June17. However, he could not attend the same citing health reasons. The proposal to conduct online probe through video conferencing mode also failed to take off on ‘technical grounds’.

The SIT team reached his residence in Puttur town of Tirupati district on Friday (August 22) to serve him a notice to attend the probe at the SIT headquarters and cooperate with the officials. The officials continued to grill him through the day on his likely role in the the amendments made to the liquor policy during the previous dispensation.

It may be recalled here that Mr. Narayanaswamy has not been named as an accused in the scam and, as such, the probing team is believed to be taking his account as a witness.

With the news spread like wildfire on his ‘likely arrest’ ahead of the weekend, media vehicles and party leaders gathered in front of his residence in large numbers, triggering tension.