The Enforcement Directorate (ED) interrogated K Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister and leader of Bharat Rashtra Samiti, for nine hours on Saturday over alleged money laundering related to the Delhi liquor excise policy scam. Kavitha, who is set to celebrate her 44th birthday on Monday, arrived at the ED headquarters from her father’s official residence in Delhi and was accompanied by her legal team and staff. After recording her statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, she left the ED office in the evening. Kavitha has been summoned to appear again on March 16 in connection with the case.
During the interrogation, Kavitha was asked about her mobile phone, which she had left at her residence. Her security personnel then retrieved the phone and submitted it to the ED authorities. The ED authorities also collected her personal and financial information and questioned her about the destruction of phones. Kavitha was also asked about her WhatsApp messages and interactions with her associate CA Gorantla Butchi Babu. She was allegedly confronted by another arrested accused, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, who is also her associate.
Kavitha is a prominent member of an entity called the “South Group,” which allegedly paid bribes to exploit loopholes in the Delhi excise policy to secure uninhibited access to wholesale businesses and retail zones in violation of rules, according to the ED. The South Group includes Raghav Magunta, son of Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, YSRCP Lok Sabha MP from Ongole in Andhra Pradesh, and P Sarath Chandra Reddy, son of P V Ramprasad Reddy, founder of Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma. The ED has alleged that Kavitha is involved in the South Group.
The Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licenses to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the ruling AAP. The policy was subsequently scrapped, and the Delhi Lieutenant Governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA. Kavitha’s association with the South Group has come under the ED’s scanner, and she has been interrogated in this regard.
