ED seeks 10-day remand of BRS leader K Kavitha in Delhi Excise Policy scam case

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday sought a 10-day remand of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislator K Kavitha who is facing charges for allegedly conspiring with top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in exchange for favours in the Delhi Excise Policy case formulation and implementation. The arrested K Kavitha is alleged to have been one of the kingpins, a key conspirator and beneficiary of the Delhi Excise Policy Scam, the ED statement added.

The ED statement alleged that K Kavitha along with other members of the South Group conspired with the top leaders of AAP and gave the party kickbacks to the tune of Rs 100 crore in exchange for undue favours in the Delhi Excise Policy formulation and implementation. The agency stated that K Kavitha allegedly orchestrated a deal with the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and then Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Excise, Manish Sisodia, wherein she along with other members of the South Group paid them kickbacks through a string of intermediaries and middlemen.

"In exchange for the kickbacks paid to the leaders of AAP, she allegedly had access to the policy formulation and was offered provisions to ensure a favourable position for her.She further got stakes in the partnership of Indo Spirits, through her dummy Arun Pillai, without substantial investment in this firm and distribution business of M/s Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd, which is one of the biggest manufacturers in the country and thus made Indo Spirits, the most profitable L1 in the Delhi Excise policy 2021-22 period and thus recouped proceeds of crime in the guise of profits," ED statement said.

"It has also been alleged that K Kavitha has been giving false evidence during the recording of statements under Section 50 of PMLA, 2002.When asked about her stakes in M/s Indo Spirits, the BRS leader denied having any share or stakes however the chats between her CA Buchi Babu and Raghav Magunta clearly showed that she was getting 33 per cent stakes in M/s Indo Spirits. She even denied the same after having seen the said chat," it added.

K Kavitha has been allegedly making unnecessary, redundant and political statements when asked about specific questions during the recording of her statement. She was also verbally and in writing cautioned against that during the recording of the statement on March 21, 2023. The probe agency has said that K Kavitha during the recording of her statement dated March 21, 2023, presented 9 phones for examination. On preliminary examination, it was found that these phones were formatted and had no data.

"When enquired about whether she had formatted these devices she refused to having done so. She stated that these devices were with her staff and she took them back from her staff to produce to the ED," it added.

"When asked who deleted the data in those devices and on whose instructions, K Kavitha was evasive and couldn't give any explanation for those formatted phones," said the agency.

Earlier in the day, K Kavitha appeared before Rouse Avenue Court in the national capital in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case. Kavitha, an MLC and the daughter of BRS founder and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was arrested after a day-long questioning followed by a raid at her Hyderabad residence on Friday. Before appearing before Rouse Avenue Court, Kavitha told reporters that "it is an illegal arrest."

She was produced before the court of special judge MK Nagpal in the Rouse Avenue court. The action comes almost two months after the ED issued a summons to the 45-year-old BRS leader. She was questioned thrice in this case last year, with the central agency recording her statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Meanwhile, earlier today, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal appeared before the Rouse Avenue Court the national capital in the Enforcement Directorate summons case.

The Rouse Avenue Court later granted him bail in both the complaints of the Enforcement Directorate. Kejriwal appeared before the court following a summons issued to him by the court based on two ED complaints in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case.