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Updated 23:17 IST, January 15th 2024

ED summons BRS leader K Kavitha in Delhi Liquor Policy scam case

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned BRS leader K Kavitha for questioning in Delhi Liquor Policy case.

Reported by: Moumita Mukherjee
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K Kavitha. | Image: PTI

The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh summons to BRS leader K Kavitha for questioning in Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering investigation. The 45-year-old daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has been asked to appear before the agency on January 16.  

Despite this summons, sources suggest that she may not depose before the agency and has communicated her decision to the investigating officer through email. Kavitha's lawyer, Nitesh Rana, cited a Supreme Court order, stating, "There is a Supreme Court order that has said that the ED cannot summon K Kavitha in this case."

While she had obtained temporary relief from the Supreme Court last year, ED sources claim that this relief is no longer valid. Kavitha was questioned three times in this case last year, with her statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The BRS MLC has consistently maintained her innocence, alleging that the BJP-led Centre is using the ED as a tool to gain political leverage in Telangana. Notably, the ED has also issued a fourth summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the same case, asking him to appear before the agency on January 18.

During Kavitha's previous deposition before the ED, she reportedly faced questions about statements made by Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai, an accused in the case with alleged close ties to her. Pillai, who represents the South Group—an alleged liquor cartel linked to Kavitha—supposedly paid kickbacks to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to secure a larger market share in Delhi under the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2020-21.

The "South Group" includes individuals such as Sarath Reddy (ex-promoter of Aurobindo Pharma), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (YSR Congress MP from Ongole Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh), his son Raghav Magunta, and Kavitha, among others, according to the ED.

The ED's remand papers for Pillai alleged that he represented the benami investments of Kavitha in the case. Kavitha had previously been questioned by the CBI, and the ED's money laundering case was filed based on the CBI FIR.

(With agency inputs )

Published 18:11 IST, January 15th 2024