The sixth additional district judge has remanded Addepalli Janardhan Rao, the main accused in the adulterated liquor case that rocked Ibrahimpatnam and Mulakalacheruvu areas, till the 17th of this month. He has currently been shifted to the Nellore district jail.
According to the remand report, Janardhan Rao started the liquor business in 2012. He made profits from the ANR Bar in Ibrahimpatnam. However, as per the Supreme Court guidelines, the bars on the highways had to be relocated, which affected the business.
Since then, due to increased competition and losses during the Covid period, Janardhan Rao has taken steps towards manufacturing counterfeit liquor. Janardhan Rao first rented a room in Nizampet, Hyderabad and started manufacturing fake liquor there. He would fill 35-liter plastic cans with liquor, put “Pinoil” stickers on them and transport them to the Ibrahimpatnam area.
He would prepare fake invoices and bills to avoid anyone suspecting him and send the goods. A person named Haji (A5 in the Ibrahimpatnam case) would receive these cans of liquor. He would then fill the liquor in liter bottles and sell them separately. In 2022, Janardhan Rao started another bar in Hyderabad named “E7” with the partnership of six people.
From that bar, fake liquor would be supplied to the Ibrahimpatnam ANR Bar in 35-liter cans. In 2023, Janardhan Rao went to Goa with his partners and there he met a Telugu man named Balaji (A3 in the case). Balaji had connections with distilleries, so he came up with the idea of manufacturing fake liquor like expensive brands. Janardhan Rao started a large-scale fake liquor business with him.
He started a fake liquor manufacturing center in ANR Bar in Ibrahimpatnam from 2023. Balaji (A3) used to supply raw materials from Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi in Eicher vans. Ravi (A4) used to supply fake labels and bottle caps. Fake liquor was manufactured under the names of famous brands like Manjeera Whisky, Kerala Malt, Old Admiral and Classic Blue. Initially, these liquor bottles were sold in ANR Bar itself. On each quarter bottle, they earned a profit of Rs. 35 to Rs. 40.
Balaji temporarily stopped the supply of spirits due to increased surveillance during the 2024 elections. Janardhan Rao also reduced his activities at that time. Thamballapalle TDP candidate Jayachandra Reddy is his friend, while his followers Surendra Naidu and PA Rajesh run wine shops, the report said. In May 2025, Janardhan Rao started manufacturing adulterated liquor again in Mulakalacheruvu.
At the same time, he also resumed operations in Ibrahimpatnam. On the 25th of last month, Janardhan Rao went there after learning that Jayachandra Reddy was in South Africa. While Janardhan was in Rwanda, Africa, officials raided the fake liquor manufacturing facility in Mulakalacheruvu. “Janardan Rao is the mastermind behind the fake liquor business in Ibrahimpatnam and Mulakalacheruvu,” said excise officials.