Liquor seizure case: Anto Augustine remanded to 14-day judicial custody

Sulthan Bathery: Anto Augustine, Managing Director of news outlet Reporter TV, has been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by a magistrate court in Wayanad following the seizure of an illicit liquor stash from a residential property linked to him.

The Sulthan Bathery Judicial First Class Magistrate Court ordered the 14-day remand, with a ruling on Augustine's bail application scheduled for Friday.

During court proceedings, the defence contended that the house, near the Karapuzha Reservoir, where the alcohol was uncovered, is not registered in Augustine's name. However, prosecutors produced evidence contesting this assertion.

The seizure occurred on Wednesday during a law enforcement raid conducted in connection with a controversial deal surrounding a proposed visit by the Argentina national football team. Excise officers confiscated over 67 litres of alcohol from the Wayanad property. The haul comprised 43 litres of foreign liquor, approximately 4.8 litres of imported foreign wine, five and a half litres of locally produced Kerala wine, and 860 millilitres of military-issue spirits.

Following the raid, state excise authorities registered a case against Anto Augustine under various non-bailable provisions of the Abkari Act, including Sections 55(i), 55(a), and 58, which include charges relating to the possession of illicit alcohol.

The initial inspection took place at the residence near Karapuzha Reservoir. Augustine, who was in Kochi at the time, was taken into custody and transported to Wayanad in the early hours of Thursday. Given the gravity of the offences, the Excise Department appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to lead the probe.

A high-level interrogation panel—comprising the Joint Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, and Assistant Excise Commissioner—questioned Augustine until 4.30 pm before producing him in court.