BRS leader K Kavitha has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in Hyderabad. The arrest, hours after her house was raided by the agency, comes weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and on a day that the Congress government in Telangana completes 100 days. In a video, Kavitha's brother and former Telangana minister KT Rama Rao can be seen confronting ED officials after he was asked how family members had entered the house. Speaking to the camera, he names an official of the agency, holds up a document, and says, "Search is over and an arrest warrant is produced, and now she says family cannot come in. She also says that she has no transit warrant, she cannot produce before a magistrate but she wants to make the case (sic)."

BRS leader K Kavitha was arrested at 5:20 pm on Friday evening, but 40 minutes later, at 6pm, people claiming to be her brother and lawyers entered the Telangana leader's Banjara Hills home unlawfully and delayed the proceedings, the Enforcement Directorate has claimed.

Kavitha, a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) in Telangana and the daughter of former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was arrested today in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

"At around 6 pm, few persons who claimed themselves as brother of K Kavitha, lawyers and other persons around 20 in number entered the premises unlawfully. On being asked their identity, none showed their identity. A ruckus was created which delayed the proceedings," said the central probe agency, which investigates financial frauds.

BRS MLC K Kavitha brought to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Office. K Kavitha had been arrested by the ED and brought to Delhi where she will be further questioned in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.

BRS MLC K Kavitha Arrested: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on late Friday night arrived at the Delhi Airport along with BRS MLC K Kavitha, after she was arrested by the agency in Hyderabad in the Delhi liquor scam case. The BRS leader will further be interrogated in the case. 

BRS MLC K Kavitha Arrested: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while responding over the arrest of BRS MLC K Kavitha said, “We don't have any comment. The agencies are doing their job. Kejriwal is not what he projected. He duped people with mohalla clinic. He is completely a dishonest politician, I will not say a person but a completely dishonest politician.” 

K Kavitha Arrested: BJP candidate from Hyderabad Madhavi Latha said, "Law is equal for everyone whether it is a woman or a man. The punishment does not depend on whether the person is a man or a woman. If one will do scams, they will surely get the punishment."

On K Kavitha's arrest by the ED, TDP National Spokesperson, Pattabhi Ram Kommareddy said, “Instead of blaming the agencies and calling it a political vendetta, BRS should go to court and prove its innocence. Why do they skip summons?”

BRS leader Sridhar Reddy, while responding to the arrest of party MLC K Kavitha by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said, "This is political vendetta. They (BJP) want to pressure us before the elections, even though the case has been ongoing for a year and a half. K Kavitha has appealed to the court to halt these actions, yet the ED proceeded before the court's verdict."

After K Kavitha's arrest, BRS working president KT Rama Rao took to X, accusing the central government, saying, "Abuse of power and institutional misuse to settle political scores is something that has become increasingly common with BJP Govt in last 10 years. ED needs to answer Supreme Court on the inordinate rush to arrest when the matter is very much sub-judice and up for review in a couple of days, on the 19th March. What’s even more appalling is the ED undermining its own undertaking given to the Supreme Court. Justice shall prevail and we will continue to fight legally."

BRS MLC K Kavitha's lawyer, P Mohith Rao said, "I have seen in the news that K Kavitha has been arrested today. But the matter was listed in Supreme Court today. The matter has been adjourned to Tuesday, March 19th. Undertaking given by law officer, stating that no coercive steps will be taken in this case. Yet, the ED barged into K Kavitha's house and arrested her. The arrest is illegal because in this case, one of the prayers was to not take any coercive against her. When the petition is pending, they can't do this. According to my prima facie view, the arrest itself is illegal. We will go to the available steps in the law."

BRS MLC K Kavitha brought to airport by ED. She has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and is being brought to Delhi where she will be further questioned in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) team reached the Hyderabad Airport with K Kavitha, who has been arrested in the Delhi liquor scam case today. The ED officials will reportedly take off from Hyderabad for Delhi with the arrested BRS MLC.

High security at Shamshabad airport from where Kavitha is About to Leave for Delhi . 

Republic TV has accessed inside visuals from the residence of BRS MLC K Kavitha wherein KT Rama Rao can be seen countering ED officials. Read Full story here. 

On the arrest of BRS MLC K Kavitha, party leader Ravula Sridhar Reddy says, "They have taken her away from here, ED has taken her from here. The case is sub-judice, posted before the court on 19th March...K Kavitha has also responded to the summons that have been sent - it is election season and she has to campaign. So, when the hearing is on the 19th, what is the haste? PM Modi is in Hyderabad and you want to arrest her. What do you want to show? There is no evidence and no cash has been seized. The allegations are baseless. BJP and Congress are trying to intimidate BRS. We will explore the legal options before us and fight. We trust the judiciary. The truth will come out."

Earlier visuals of BRS MLC K Kavitha at her residence in Hyderabad, Telangana. She has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and is being brought to Delhi where she will be further questioned in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.

Security heightened outside K Kavitha's residence. Earlier, a heated argument had broken out between KTR and ED officials over her arrest at Kavitha's residence

High drama erupts outside K Kavitha's house over her arrest in the Delhi Excise Policy case. BRS leaders, workers hold massive protests 

In a major bureaucratic rejig, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointments of 22 officers at the Joint Secretary and Joint Secretary equivalent levels. Of them, three have been deputed as Joint Secretaries to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday reached out to the Christian community which has a significant presence in this southern district, and also projected Anil K Antony -- son of Congress stalwart and former Union Minister A K Antony -- as a symbol of the youth.

"This is the kind of freshness that is required in Kerala politics," Modi said, referring to Anil Antony who had left the Congress and joined the BJP last year and is the saffron party's candidate from the Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency.

Addressing a large gathering of NDA workers and followers here, the PM said that in the last Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the BJP got a vote percentage in double digits and therefore, the target of double digit seats from Kerala is not too far.

"In the last elections, the people of Kerala made us the double-digit vote percentage party. And now, our destiny of double-digit seats here is not so far," he said. "Lotus is going to bloom in Kerala this time." Modi reached out to the Christian community, which has a significant presence in this southern district, by recalling his meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Kerala police have registered a case against a Kozhikode native settled in Dubai for allegedly raping a Kochi-based woman.

Police said the woman filed the complaint on March 13 and an FIR was lodged on Thursday against him.

According to the complaint, the man, an acquaintance of the woman, met her in Dubai. Police said the incident happened when she was in Dubai as part of a business trip.

"As per the complaint, she was tied up and raped. A case has been registered and further action will be taken accordingly," police told PTI.

Delhi Water minister Atishi on Friday said she will order an inquiry into the nearly 8-month-long pendency into the sewer-related issues and fix accountability.

Speaking in the Delhi Assembly on the issue of water and sewer problems, she said such issues had not even come up during the Covid-19 lockdown.

"It is very rare that the opposition and the ruling party are on the same page regarding water issues and everybody wants a solution," she said.

"In the last one week, work was carried out to resolve sewer issues. If they could be resolved within four to five days, why did they remain unresolved for so long. This is a matter of investigation," she added.

The minister said she will issue directions for an inquiry into the matter and conceded there was a lack of coordination between the Delhi Jal Board, Urban Development department and Finance Department.

"The problems arising in the last one year have not risen in Delhi's history. Sometimes there are no sewer machines, or a pipeline has burst right in the middle of the road or there is leakage in the pipeline. The resolution of issues regarding water and sewer has always been a difficult task in Delhi," she said.

Noting that the scale of Delhi's infrastructure growth does not match the scale of migration, she said such problems were taken care of even during the Covid-19 lockdown, when the city faced an emergency.

"The fault lines between the Delhi Jal Board, Urban development and Finance Department have come out in the open. People of Delhi have to face the brunt of this. All the people sitting in this House get salaries from the taxpayers' money. People of Delhi have faced issues. It needs investigation and after that a white paper will also be brought out," she added.

The minister stressed that someone has to be held accountable — whether it is the DJB members or other departments' officials.

The minister also informed the Assembly that they have signed an MoU with Himachal Pradesh for release of water to Delhi.

"But Haryana has put a roadblock saying they have the first right on that water. I request the BJP to help us in this since they have a government in Haryana. If they support our case in the Upper Yamuna River Board, we will start getting 100 MGD of water the next day," she said.

The minister informed the Assembly that Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar has personally taken responsibility for groundwater augmentation.

The government will also set the timeline for the desilting of trunk sewers and peripheral sewers, she added.

On March 8, Atishi had written to Chief Secretary saying the Delhi Jal Board has more than 10,000 unresolved complaints.

"I am shocked that senior Delhi Jal Board officers have not been able to take any long-term corrective action in the matter despite recurring complaints. In the absence of an effective public grievance system, the people of Delhi are being forced to live in inhuman conditions," she had then said.

The Ministry of External Affairs slammed the United States' comments on the Citizenship Amendment Act as "misinformed and misplaced" with spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying, "US comments on CAA are misinformed and misplaced. It’s an internal matter of India."

The Rouse Avenue Court allows plea seeking early hearing on the bail plea of deputy Delhi CM Manish Sisodia. The Court has listed the matter on March 18 for hearing the bail applications.

Earlier, the court had deferred the hearing on the application as a Curative petition was pending in the Supreme Court. The same has been dismissed by the Supreme Court.

The ED is conducting searches of K Kavitha's residence in Hyderabad in link with the Delhi Liquor Case. 

Special NIA court hearing the Malegaon 2008 blasts case has issued a bailable warrant of Rs 10,000 against accused number 10 Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi aka Dayanand Pandey for not appearing before the court for hearing despite being told by the court to appear in person.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Bihar cabinet will be expanded today with induction of ministers from JDU and its ally BJP. According to party sources, Kumar is likely to go with the old faces of the JDU for the cabinet berth. 

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday met 11 victims of violence including five women from West Bengal's Sandeshkhali in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

The Director of the Center for SC/ST Support and Research, Dr Partha Biswas said, "Regarding the issue of Sandeshkhali, the victims gave a memorandum to the President of India, today. The President heard the whole matter with great sympathy and was very saddened by this. From the incident, 11 victims have come here today, out of which five are women and 6 are men."

The Delhi Court will pronounce the order for Kejriwal's plea challenging the ED's summons after the lunch. 

On ED summons, an advocate representing CM Arvind Kejriwal, Ramesh Gupta said, "We have two revisions against two summoning orders. One argument already had yesterday, today we have taken some more pleas, that, before prosecuting under 174 IPC, the ED needed to give a so-cause notice under section 63 that a penalty can be imposed for willful default and only after that the complaint could have been filed. Secondly, the summon was sent to Arvind Kejriwal, the CM and he has given the reason for his absence because of responsibilities as a CM in all these days. But that reply wasn't considered and responded to, either by the ED or the court while issuing the summons..."

The Supreme Court adjourns the hearing till March 19 on Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K. Kavitha's plea against the ED summons in connection with the Delhi excise policy irregularities matter. The top court will also hear on March 19 TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee's plea against the summons by the probe agency in the recruitment irregularities matter in West Bengal.

The Supreme Court posts hearing to Thursday (March 21) applications seeking to stay the new law regarding the appointment of Election Commissioners.

Angry refugees march towards India Gate over INDI Alliance's CAA pushback. They said, " We can't go back to Pakistan. We don't want to be converted forcefully. Why are Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal against us getting Indian citizenship?" 
 

Delhi Court today resumed hearing in Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea challenging orders of the magisterial court summoning him on ED's complaints alleging not compliance with the agency’s summons.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates the newly built Nausena Bhawan complex in New Delhi.

The newly inaugurated stations of the Kolkata Metro, including India's first underwater metro line, began their operations today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the metro operations from Kavi Subhash, Majerhat and the Esplanade stations on March 6.5 days ago.

A team of Anti Organized Crime Cell and PS Budh Vihar Rohini District, Delhi under the operations 'Panther-Claw' arrested 3 sharpshooters of the Kala Jatheri gang.

Furthermore, the Delhi Police added that two sophisticated firearms including one pistol and one revolver along with seven live cartridges were recovered from their possession.
 

On Friday, the CEC Rajiv Kumar welcomed the two newly-appointed Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu who joined the Commission. 

As per news agency ANI, senior Biju Janta Dal (BJD) leader Prasanna Acharya sustained injuries in a road accident in Odisha's Radhakhol area.

The leader is currently undergoing treatment. 

The Ranchi police have issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials asking them to join the probe in the third week of March in connection with an FIR lodged by the former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren under the SC-ST Act.

The probe agency had earlier filed a petition against the FIR in Jharkhand High Court which ordered no coercive action against the ED officials.

BS Yediyurappa, the former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior BJP leader has been charged for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor. An FIR has been filed under a section of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and 354 (A) IPC.

As per media reports, the case was filed by Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a roadshow in Hyderabad on Friday. The Prime Minister's roadshow would be held for an hour from Mirjaguda to Malkajgiri on Friday evening, Telangana BJP sources said on Thursday.

Furthermore, he will address BJP rallies in Telangana on March 16 and March 18 ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.  

Two new Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu today take charge. Both were appointed yesterday by the selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.