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Malayalam TV channel MD sent back to jail after 1-day excise custody in Wayanad liquor seizure case

Augustine, who was taken into Excise custody for one day, was produced before Sultan Bathery Judicial First Class Magistrate Adheena Biju.

Published on: Sep 20, 2026, 15:15:17 IST
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A court in Sultan Bathery on Sunday remanded Anto Augustine, managing director of a Malayalam news television channel, to judicial custody after he completed one day in Excise custody in a case following the seizure of liquor bottles above the permissible limit from his ancestral house here.

The SIT handed over the seized liquor to the Excise Department, which subsequently registered a case and arrested Augustine. (Representative Image/PTI)
The SIT handed over the seized liquor to the Excise Department, which subsequently registered a case and arrested Augustine. (Representative Image/PTI)

Augustine, who was taken into Excise custody for one day, was produced before Sultan Bathery Judicial First Class Magistrate Adheena Biju.

He was subsequently shifted to Wayanad District Jail in Mananthavady.

Before entering the jail, Augustine told reporters that he would respond to their queries later.

Also Read | Reporter TV MD Anto Augustine jailed after 67 litres of liquor seized from Kerala home

During the 24-hour custody, the Excise team took Augustine to his ancestral house as part of evidence collection in the case. The liquor bottles seized from the house were also examined as part of the investigation.

Also Read | News channel executive denied bail in excise case in Kerala

The SIT handed over the seized liquor to the Excise Department, which subsequently registered a case and arrested Augustine, officials said.

He was remanded in judicial custody till September 30.

The court on Friday had dismissed his bail petition.

Also Read | Kerala: Excise busts MDMA racket smuggling drugs from Delhi using women as carriers

Augustine later approached the Kerala High Court seeking bail. The High Court decided to consider his plea on September 22.

 
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