Published Sep 17, 2026 | 8:33 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 17, 2026 | 8:34 AM
Anto Augustine.
Synopsis: During a search at Anto’s house on Wednesday, 43 litres of hard liquor and seven litres of wine were found. The Excise Department booked Anto under sections 55A, 55I and 58 of the Abkari Act. Section 55A deals with the illegal possession and transportation of liquor. If found guilty under the section, the individual could be punished with up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of ₹1 lakh.
The Excise Department arrested Malayalam television news channel Reporter TV’s Managing Director Anto Augustine under the Abkari Act for storing alcoholic beverages in excess of the permitted quantity at his ancestral house in Wayanad.
A team under Excise Assistant Commissioner Baiju arrested Anto at his Kochi office early on Thursday, 17 September, and took him to the Aluva District Hospital for the mandatory medical examination.
During a search at Anto’s house on Wednesday, 16 September, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala police found 43 litres of hard liquor and seven litres of wine, and alerted the Excise Department.
Rules allow an unlicensed individual to keep three litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), 2.3 litres of foreign liquor and 3.5 litres of wine.
The Excise booked Anto under sections 55A, 55I and 58 of the Abkari Act. Section 55A covers illegal possession and transportation of liquor. If found guilty under the section, the individual could face up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a minimum fine of ₹1 lakh.
Anto’s arrest witnessed dramatic scenes, with the accused initially refusing to cooperate without being shown the FIR. Though officials showed him a digital copy, he insisted on a hard copy.
Perumbavoor Excise Circle inspector Manoj Kumar later produced the physical copy.
Officials told South First that Anto would be produced in person before the Bathery Judicial First Class Magistrate Court.
The SIT, probing alleged financial irregularities surrounding the failed visit of football superstar Lionel Messi and the Argentine national team to Keralam, conducted coordinated searches at multiple locations, including Anto’s Wayanad residence, across the state early Wednesday.
The searches, carried out under a court order, were ordered by the team head, ADGP P Vijayan.
The operation covered five locations, including the Kochi and Wayanad residences of Augustine brothers Anto Augustine and Joskutty Augustine, who head Reporter Broadcasting Company (RBC), the headquarters of Reporter TV at Kalamassery and the office of GOTAD.
Related: Keralam CM Satheesan justifies police raid on Reporter TV office
Meanwhile, police sources said Anto would be questioned soon in connection with the defamation case registered based on a complaint by Raju P Nair, a close aide of Chief Minister VD Satheesan. The complaint relates to Anto’s allegations that Satheesan had secretly registered a second marriage at the Byndoor Sub-Registrar’s Office.
Anto said on 11 September that two people approached him, claiming they had “information worth crores”.
“They showed me a few documents. I was shocked, and so were my colleagues. It was about the chief minister,” Anto said before proceeding to make claims about Satheesan’s personal life. Incidentally, he later clarified that neither the claims nor the documents could be verified or supported by evidence.
Anto said that when he inquired through reporters at the registrar’s office, where records related to Satheesan’s personal life were said to have been registered, officials could not find any such documents—the absence of the supposed documents suggested the information may have been false.
(Edited by Majnu Babu. Inputs from Sreelakshmi Soman).
