Andhra Pradesh’s political circles are heated on Sunday morning after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested senior YSRCP leader and former minister Jogi Ramesh in connection with the fake liquor racket case at his residence in Ibrahimpatnam, Krishna district.

According to sources, the SIT, accompanied by a heavy police contingent, reached Ramesh’s house early in the morning. His aide, Ramu, was first taken into custody for questioning, followed by Ramesh’s arrest after a brief standoff. Officials reportedly acted based on the statement of Addepalli Janardhan Rao, the main accused in the case, who claimed that the fake liquor was manufactured under Ramesh’s influence. The SIT is said to have treated his testimony as a crucial lead in the investigation.

However, Jogi Ramesh has repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated and asserting that he has no link whatsoever with the case. “This is a clear case of political revenge by the ruling government,” he had earlier stated, accusing the administration of deliberately targeting him to divert public attention from its own failures.

Reacting sharply to the arrest, YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy lashed out at Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, terming the move “an illegal and shameful act of political vendetta.” In a scathing post on X (formerly Twitter), Jagan alleged that Naidu was “trying to shift blame and mislead the public after being caught red-handed in the fake liquor scandal.”

“Mr. Chandrababu, the liquor seized belongs to your regime, your leaders, and your party’s network of belt shops and private outlets. Yet you arrest our BC leader, Jogi Ramesh, to cover your tracks. This is nothing but an abuse of power,” Jagan wrote.

He further accused the government of using the arrest as a distraction from recent administrative failures, including the Kasibugga temple stampede and the Montha cyclone crisis. Jagan alleged that Ramesh was arrested just a day after filing a petition in the High Court seeking a CBI probe into the liquor scam, suggesting the Chief Minister fears exposure.