Anto Augustine held in liquor case as Messi probe gathers momentum
Kochi: Reporter TV Managing Director Anto Augustine was taken into formal custody by the Excise Department on Thursday in a case involving possession of liquor beyond the legal limit, even as a Special Investigation Team (SIT) pressed ahead with its probe into alleged financial misconduct linked to the proposed Lionel Messi and Argentina football team visit to Kerala.
An Excise squad led by Assistant Commissioner Baiju arrived at the Reporter TV office in Kalamassery in the early hours of Thursday and placed Augustine under arrest. Following a mandatory medical check-up, he was being driven to Wayanad, a trip expected to last several hours, and was scheduled to be presented before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Sulthan Bathery.
The arrest came after a large cache of liquor was found at Augustine’s ancestral residence in Vazhavatta, Wayanad, during an SIT raid on Wednesday. Officials confiscated 43 litres of foreign liquor, seven litres of foreign wine and 13 litres of homemade wine, in addition to bottles of liquor not approved for sale in India.
The arrest at the media house turned tense when Augustine insisted on seeing the FIR before being taken away. Although Excise officers initially showed him a digital version, he demanded a hard copy. Perumbavoor Excise Circle Inspector Manoj Kumar later brought the physical document, after which the arrest was formally completed.
The move followed a marathon, nearly 20-hour search by the SIT at the Reporter Broadcasting Company office and associated premises linked to its promoters in Kochi and Wayanad. Operating under court warrants, investigators seized multiple documents, memory cards and records connected to the Kaloor stadium, along with $6,300 in foreign currency.
State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, speaking to reporters after returning from the US, said the SIT headed by ADGP P. Vijayan was formed to examine the Messi episode based on a report submitted by the Sports Secretary and passed on to him by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan. “The SIT is functioning within the framework of the law. The Home Minister does not interfere,” Chennithala said, adding that any unlawful action would be scrutinised.
The SIT operation, led by Thrikkakara ACP Bijoy Chandran, began around 6 a.m. on Wednesday and wrapped up at about 2.30 a.m. on Thursday. Teams also searched flats occupied by Augustine and his brothers at Chembumukku, as well as the office of marketing firm GOTAD, which investigators believe has connections to Augustine. Police said they had gathered evidence and that the SIT chief would share more details.
The Excise case against Augustine carries non-bailable provisions under the Abkari Act, while the parallel SIT inquiry is examining allegations of cheating and financial irregularities surrounding the proposed Messi-Argentina event.
(Inputs from IANS)