Delhi Liquor Policy Scandal: BRS chief K Kavitha petitions the Supreme Court to overturn her detention
Delhi Liquor Policy Scandal: On Monday, MLC K Kavitha of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court contesting her apprehension in a money laundering case pertaining to the anomalies in the Delhi excise policy. Kavitha, the daughter of BRS founder and former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, was taken into custody on March 15 after a day-long interrogation and a search at her Hyderabad home.
The BRS leader was earlier remanded to ED custody until March 23 by a Delhi court. According to reports, KCR’s daughter is a prominent figure in the “South Group,” which is suspected of giving the governing AAP bribes of Rs 100 crore in exchange for a substantial portion of liquor licences in the nation’s capital.
After her appearance before Special Judge M. K. Nagpal for ED cases, she was given a one-week detention order by the federal anti-money laundering agency.
In a case of alcohol fraud, Kavitha is detained.
On Saturday, March 16, the national capital saw the arrival of K. Kavitha, a member of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC, to the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) office after his detention in connection with a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy.
After being questioned for a whole day and having her home in Hyderabad raided, Kavitha, the daughter of BRS founder and former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, was taken into custody.
During the search, the ED reportedly found around five cell phones in K. Kavitha’s home. According to a witness’s statement, Kavita forbade them from conducting the inquiry even after the ED produced the search warrant. After some time, the hunt was put into motion.
The ED searched K. Kavitha’s home starting at around 1:45 p.m. yesterday and finishing at about 6:45 p.m. on Friday.
What was said in the order of arrest?
The ED investigation officer stated in the arrest order, “I believe that Smt. Kalvakuntla Kavitha, w/o Mr. D R Anil Kumar, residing at H. No. 8-2316/S/H, Road No. 14, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, Telengana-500034, has been guilty of an offence punishable under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (15 of 2003).”
Therefore, I hereby arrest the aforementioned Smt. Kalvakuntla Kavitha at 05:20 pm on March 15, 2024, in accordance with the authority granted to me under subsection (1) of Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (915 of 2003). She has been told the reasons for her detention. The officer said, “A copy of the 14-page reasons for arrest has been served with her.
The 45-year-old BRS MLC received a summons from the ED over two months prior to the action. In this instance from the previous year, she was questioned three times, and the central agency recorded her statement in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). In an earlier statement, the BRS leader denied any wrongdoing and said that the BJP at the Centre was “using” the ED since it was unable to get a “backdoor entry” into Telangana.
CBI looking into alleged money laundering
Kavitha was also questioned by the CBI earlier in relation to the money laundering case. After taking cognizance of the CBI’s FIR, the ED case was launched.
Businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai, of Hyderabad, was detained in connection with the investigation last year and, according to the ED, “is one of the key persons in the entire scam involving payments of huge kickbacks and formation of the biggest cartel of the South Group.” The investigation said that the “South Group” included Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (MP, Ongole), his son Raghav Magunta, Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Group), Telangana MLC Kavitha, and others. During its inquiry, the federal agency said that Pillai, Abhishek Boinpalli, and Butchi Babu were representing the South Group.
