Wayanad (Kerala), Sep 18 (IANS): Reporter TV Managing Director Anto Augustine, arrested in an excise case following the seizure of liquor from his ancestral house in Wayanad, will remain in judicial custody as a Kerala court on Friday rejected his bail plea.
The decision was announced by the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court at Sulthan Bathery.
Augustine was arrested by the Excise Department early on Thursday, shortly after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing alleged financial irregularities surrounding the proposed visit of football star Lionel Messi and the Argentina team to Kerala completed searches at his office and properties.
The Bathery court had on Thursday sent Augustine to judicial custody for 14 days.
He was subsequently to be shifted to the District Jail at Mananthavady.
The Excise case relates to the alleged possession of liquor beyond the permissible limit.
The arrest followed the seizure of about 67 litres of liquor and wine from Augustine’s ancestral house at Vazhavatta in Wayanad during the SIT search on Wednesday.
Excise officials said the seized stock included foreign-made liquor and wine and other liquor allegedly not authorised for sale in India.
The case has been registered under Sections 55(a), 55(i) and 58 of the Kerala Abkari Act. An Excise team led by Assistant Commissioner Baiju reached the Reporter TV office in Kalamassery around 2.30 am on Thursday and arrested Augustine there.
He was subsequently taken to Wayanad and produced before the court.
The arrest came after the SIT conducted searches for several hours at the Reporter Broadcasting Company office and premises linked to Augustine and his brothers in Kochi and Wayanad.
Investigators were probing alleged financial irregularities connected with the proposed Messi-Argentina event.
The police action is separate from the excise case.
The SIT searches had led to the seizure of documents and other records, including material relating to the Kaloor stadium, while investigators also examined financial transactions linked to the proposed event.
A separate tax-related inquiry has also flagged alleged financial irregularities involving Reporter Broadcasting Company.
The timing of Augustine’s arrest, coming hours after the SIT searches, triggered criticism and questions over the action against the head of a news organisation.
Augustine had denied the liquor allegations and said he had cooperated with the investigation into the Messi episode, handing over the documents sought by the investigators.
The Kerala Police SIT is investigating alleged cheating and financial irregularities surrounding the proposed football event, while the Excise case before the Bathery court concerns the alleged possession of liquor beyond the legally permissible quantity.
