Politics
Telangana: ED Summons CM KCR's Daughter K Kavitha For Questioning In Delhi Excise Policy Scam
MLC K Kavitha with her father CM KCR (@RaoKavitha/Twitter)
K Kavitha, a leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with the Delhi excise policy investigation.
The ED is probing the scrapped Delhi excise policy and allegations of kickbacks paid to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders. K Kavitha had previously been questioned by the ED in March regarding this case.
According to the ED, Kavitha had been in contact with Vijay Nair, the communication in-charge of the AAP, who had met with liquor businessmen and politicians during the formulation and implementation of the policy.
Kavitha is expected to be questioned about her association with Sameer Mahendru's Indospirits Group, which allegedly controlled multiple retail zones in Delhi and made advance kickback payments worth Rs100 crore to AAP leaders.
Kavitha was a member of the alleged South Group involved in this.
During her previous interrogation, Kavitha was confronted with statements from her former chartered accountant, Butchibabu Gorantla, and Arun Ramchandra Pillai, who represented her interests in meetings with Nair and others.
Both Gorantla and Pillai were arrested by the CBI in February and March, respectively.
Butchibabu's statements revealed a political understanding between K Kavitha, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. He mentioned Kavitha's meeting with Vijay Nair on 19th-20th March, 2021.
The ED alleges that Kavitha was to receive favors in the policy and liquor business in Delhi in exchange for providing funds to the AAP.
Court documents indicate that, as part of the deal, she received stakes in partnership with Sameer Mahendru and involvement in the distribution of Pernod Ricard.
In a separate development, the CBI has filed an FIR against an ED assistant director in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
The ED has accused the AAP of using a portion of Rs 100 crore kickbacks from the Delhi excise policy in their campaign for the 2022 Goa assembly election.
The ED estimates the financial loss due to irregularities in the excise policy to be around Rs 2,873 crore.
Kavitha has denied the allegations against her, asserting her innocence.
Facing these accusations, Kavitha remains resolute, stating that such tactics will not deter her or her father, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, from their mission.
Kejriwal, for his part, has denied the charges, deeming them baseless and false.
The 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalize Delhi's struggling liquor industry but was scrapped prematurely amid allegations of irregularities.
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