Tadepalle (Andhra Pradesh) [India], October 26 (ANI): YSR Congress Party Vemuru in-charge Varikuti Ashok Babu slammed Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, terming the Kurnool bus tragedy, which claimed 19 lives, a government-made massacre caused by the spread of spurious liquor under his rule, a press release by YSRCP said.

Addressing the media, Ashok Babu said the coalition government's liquor policy has turned every village into a '24-hour liquor ATM.'

As per the release, he alleged that the bus driver involved in the tragedy was intoxicated, proving that the accident stemmed from the rampant, unregulated sale of adulterated liquor. 'The government is profiting from the blood of the poor,' he said, adding that the administration's silence exposes its complicity.

Ashok Babu demanded a CBI probe and called for Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh, Excise Minister Kollu Ravindra and Transport Minister Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy to be named as accused in the case.

'The YSRCP government once ensured strict regulation. Now, under Chandrababu's corrupt regime, liquor floods the streets, fake brands kill people, and deaths are dismissed as accidents. This is not negligence, this is state-sponsored murder,' he said.

He accused Chandrababu and Nara Lokesh of turning the state into a liquor den by handing over shops to private individuals and TDP leaders, who now run illegal belt shops and fake liquor factories, the YSRCP release said.

'Even cool drink stalls are selling liquor. Thousands are dying, and this government is the killer,' Ashok Babu alleged.

This comes after a Bengaluru-bound bus from Hyderabad caught fire after a fatal collision with a bike in Chinnatekur near the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh on National Highway (NH) 44 in the early hours of Friday, leaving 19 people dead.

Earlier today, Dr Brahmaji, forensic professor at Kurnool Medical College, said that ten out of the 19 bodies have been handed over to the families of the victims.

The bodies were handed over after Dr Brahmaji and his team received the DNA test reports of the victims.

He told ANI, 'Yesterday, my team and I visited the spot. We sent samples for DNA testing. After receiving the DNA test report, we started handing over the bodies today. So far, we have handed over 10 bodies, and nine are still there. The relatives will arrive shortly, and we will hand over the bodies to them.' (ANI)