The Enforcement Directorate arrested BRS MLC K. Kavitha on Friday after a raid of her premises in Hyderabad and took her to New Delhi for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
Before the arrest, Kavitha kissed her son goodbye and reassured her brother KTR. She raised her fist and reportedly said ‘Jai Telangana’ and left along with ED officials to the airport. At the airport, amidst security, she was taken to New Delhi.
The search started at 1:45pm on Friday at the house of Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and concluded at 6:45 pm.
After due legal process, K. Kavitha was arrested under Section 19 of the PMLA 2002 at 05.20 pm on Friday.
A copy of the document (14 pages) listing the grounds for the arrest was issued to K. Kavitha by ED officials. After the search, five mobile phones were also seized.
Kavitha was charged of money laundering as defined under Section 3 of the PMLA which is punishable under Section 4 of the same Act.
Anil Kumar, the husband of Kavitha, was informed in person about the arrest of his wife by officials.
The arrest order said that the probe agencies have reasons to believe that Kavitha is guilty of an offence punishable under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
The ED showed a search warrant issued under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, to search, and seize records/properties connected to entities/persons for investigations under the PMLA, 2002, at the above-mentioned premises.
Kavitha read the authorisation. After going through it she put her dated signature on the authorisation to indicate that she had seen and read the same.
As per the Panchanama, the search was conducted in an orderly manner without causing any property damage.
“At around 6 pm, some persons who claimed to represent the brother of K. Kavitha, lawyers and other persons numbering around 20 entered the premises unlawfully. On being asked their identity they did not show their ID cards. This created a ruckus and it delayed proceedings,” the Panchanama said.
The search was conducted in a peaceful, orderly manner and no damage to person or property was caused during the search, the ED said.
Deputy Director Bhanupriya Meena, Assistant Director Jogender, Assistant Director Sumit Goyal, Enforcement Officers Vikrant Kumar, Kartik Mehra and Himanshu Choudhary, Lady Officer Mamta Nara and Assistant Enforcement Officer Brajesh Chourasia accompanied the Authorised Officer, Jogender, during the search. Kavitha was present on the premises during the search.
“During the search, the voluntary statement of Kavitha was also recorded under Section 17 of PMLA. Enforcement Officer Varalakshmi Thummoje joined the search at around 4.15 pm. After that lady officer Mamta Nara left the premises,” the Panchanama said.
The Enforcement Directorate said that Kavitha was linked to the ‘South Group,’ a lobby of liquor traders, who was trying to play a bigger role under the now scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
The ED said that one of the accused in the case, Vijay Nair, received kickbacks of Rs 100 crore on behalf of AAP leaders from the ‘South Group,’ allegedly controlled by Sarath Reddy, Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy.
During the last round of questioning by the ED, officials said Kavitha was confronted with Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai who was arrested in the case earlier and allegedly shared close ties with her.
Kavitha had then asserted that she had done nothing wrong and alleged that the Centre was “using” the ED as the BJP could not gain a “backdoor entry” into Telangana.
The ‘South Group,’ according to the ED, comprised 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 the proxy investments” of Kavitha in the case.
Kavitha was earlier questioned by the CBI in connection with the case at her residence in Hyderabad.
The ED also recorded the statement of Butchibabu, an accountant allegedly linked to Kavitha.
The ED said the accountant had said that “there was a political understanding between Kavitha and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia. Kavitha also met Vijay Nair on March 19-20, 2021.”
Vijay Nair was arrested in the case by both the ED and the CBI.
The ED alleged the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly rejected by the AAP.
The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi Lieutenant Governor recommended a CBI probe, after which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
