The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested BRS leader K Kavitha on Friday following a daylong raid at her premises in Hyderabad. She was being brought to Delhi for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, according to agency sources.
Kavitha, aged 46 and a member of the Telangana Legislative Council, was apprehended by the central probe agency at 5:20 pm from her residence in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, as per the arrest memo. Her husband, D R Anil Kumar, was notified of her arrest by ED officials.
Sources within the agency stated that Kavitha was being transported to Delhi for further interrogation.
The arrest of Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, followed a daylong raid conducted by the ED at her Hyderabad premises.
Kavitha had been questioned by the ED three times last year in connection with this case. She was summoned again this year but did not appear, citing a Supreme Court directive providing her protection from coercive action.
Addressing reporters in Hyderabad, BRS leader and former Telangana minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy stated that Kavitha was being flown to Delhi on an 8:45 pm flight. He alleged that the move was pre-planned and vowed to protest against it.
BRS working president K T Rama Rao, former minister Harish Rao, and a large number of party workers gathered at Kavitha's residence, raising slogans.
The Enforcement Directorate had alleged that Kavitha was associated with a "South Group" lobby of liquor traders who sought to play a significant role under the now-defunct Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
One of the accused in the case, Vijay Nair, was alleged to have received kickbacks worth at least Rs 100 crore on behalf of AAP leaders from the "South Group", purportedly controlled by Sarath Reddy, Kavitha, and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy.
During her last round of questioning by the ED, Kavitha was reportedly confronted with Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramachandran Pillai, who was previously arrested in the case and had close ties with her.
Kavitha maintained her innocence during the confrontation, alleging that the Centre was exploiting the ED because the BJP could not secure entry into Telangana through legitimate means.
According to the ED, the "South Group" includes Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Pharma), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (YSR Congress MP from Ongole Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh), his son Raghav Magunta, Kavitha, and others.
The ED also alleged in Pillai's remand papers that he represented Kavitha's benami investments in the case.
Kavitha had previously been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at her Hyderabad residence regarding the case.
Additionally, the ED recorded the statement of Butchibabu, an accountant allegedly associated with Kavitha. According to the ED, the accountant stated that there was a political understanding between K Kavitha and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Nair, who was arrested in the case by both the ED and the CBI, was also mentioned in the accountant's statement.
The agency alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, granting licences to liquor traders, facilitated cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who allegedly paid bribes for it. The AAP strongly refuted these allegations.
The policy was subsequently revoked, and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, prompting the ED to register a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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