Cooperate with SIT probe in liquor scam case, AP high court tells accused

Vijayawada: The high court on Friday directed the accused in the case registered over alleged irregularities in liquor transportation to cooperate with the special investigation team (SIT) probe. The court directed them to appear before the investigating officer on April 30 in accordance with the notices issued to them.Kesireddy Rajasekhar Reddy, the prime accused in the liquor scam case, moved the high court seeking anticipatory bail. Former minister Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao, his son Sunil, and daughter-in-law Valluru Keerthi, who are also accused in the case, filed separate petitions seeking anticipatory bail.Arguing on behalf of the petitioners, Abhay Sidhant submitted that Raj could not appear before the SIT because of Enforcement Directorate searches at his house since Friday morning. He further said that there was no clarity whether he was taken into custody or not.Arguing on behalf of the prosecution, Siddharth Agarwal said they were unaware of the factual position regarding the claims made by the petitioner. He sought directions to call for written submissions to be placed before the court.Considering the arguments, Justice Venkata Jyothirmai Pratapa directed the petitioner's counsel to submit the details stated before the court in the form of a memo and made it clear that the accused must cooperate with the ongoing SIT investigation and should appear before the investigating officer as and when required.