BRS legislator K Kavitha
New Delhi: A Delhi court extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of Bharat Rashtriya Samithi (BRS) legislator K Kavitha until March 26 as part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering allegations linked to the recently revoked Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
The Supreme Court had denied bail to Kavitha on Friday, directing her to seek relief from the trial court, stating that her status as a political figure or her ability to approach the apex court directly wouldn’t be grounds for bail consideration.
During the court session, the ED asserted that Kavitha was involved in orchestrating kickbacks amounting to Rs. 100 crore and requested a five-day extension of remand. According to Zoheb Hussain, representing the ED, analysis of her mobile data revealed deletion of pertinent information related to the case, necessitating further investigation. Additionally, searches were underway at her nephew’s residence.
Kavitha, aged 46 and the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, was arrested from her Hyderabad residence on March 15 after extensive raids conducted by the ED and income tax officials.
Previously, on March 16, a Delhi court had granted custody to the ED until March 23, citing the necessity for her interrogation to uncover the trail of alleged illicit funds. Represented by advocate Nitesh Rana, Kavitha informed the court of the ED’s request for documents, which she couldn’t provide without bail. Though a bail application had been filed, it wasn’t pressed during the hearing; instead, a notice request was made.
The core accusation against Kavitha revolves around her purported involvement in a consortium known as the ‘South Group,’ which allegedly paid kickbacks to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders to secure nine retail zones under the Delhi excise policy. The group’s members included Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, his son Raghav Magunta, Sarath Reddy (from Aurobindo Group), and Delhi businessman Sameer Mahendru.
In a remand document filed by the ED while seeking custody of AAP chief and Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, it was stated that kickbacks amounting to Rs. 100 crore were received by Vijay Nair on behalf of Kejriwal and AAP from the South Group.
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