Telangana minister's son in Customs crosshairs in smuggled luxury watches case

Telangana minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy's son Ponguleti Harsha Reddy has been summoned by the Chennai Customs in a case involving smuggled high-end watches, Times of India reported on April 8.

The watches in this case - Patek Philipe 5740 and Breguet 2759 - are reportedly priced at Rs 1.7 crore. These watches were confiscated from an Indian national who was returning home from Singapore on February 5.

Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy is Telangana's revenue and housing minister.


Harsha Reddy, who serves as a director in a company owned by his family, had been set to meet with customs officials on April 4th. However, due to his dengue illness, he asked for the meeting to be postponed. He has consented to provide his testimony after April 27th, following medical recommendations.

According to investigations, it appears that Harsha Reddy obtained the watches from Muhammed Faherdeen Mubeen, an Indian luxury watch dealer based in Hong Kong. This transaction was facilitated by an intermediary named Alokam Naveen Kumar, who admitted to arranging the sale through cryptocurrency and hawala transactions.

Rejecting the accusations, Harsha Reddy, who manages the real estate company Raghava Projects, called the case entirely unfounded.

The Madras High Court rejected Naveen Kumar's request for anticipatory bail, saying that the collective worth of smuggled luxury watches could surpass Rs 100 crore.

A judicial magistrate in Alandur has instructed Customs officials to probe Harsha Reddy and apprehend Naveen Kumar.

Srinivasa Reddy was not available for comment, ToI's report said.