New Delhi: Following her involvement in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha has been remanded to judicial custody till April 9 by the Rouse Avenue Court. The court has also scheduled April 1 for the hearing on her interim bail plea.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought Kavitha’s judicial custody, citing her potential influence over witnesses and evidence tampering, which could impede the ongoing investigation. During her remand period, the agency recorded her statement, interrogated her, and confronted her with various individuals and digital records.
Kavitha, a Member of Legislative Council from Telangana and daughter of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was arrested in Hyderabad on March 15. The ED had remanded her to custody a day later after conducting a search operation at her residence.
The Supreme Court had earlier declined Kavitha’s bail plea in the same case, directing her to approach the trial court for expedited consideration of her application. The court emphasized a uniform policy for all and disallowed direct bail pleas to the top court, especially from political figures.
The ED alleged Kavitha’s involvement in a conspiracy with top leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, to manipulate the Delhi excise policy for personal gain. The case stemmed from a report by Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, highlighting procedural irregularities in the policy formulation.
According to the ED, the scam aimed to favor private entities in the wholesale liquor business, resulting in substantial financial losses to the exchequer. AAP leaders purportedly received kickbacks amounting to Rs 100 crore from a group known as the “South Group,” with Kavitha alleged to be part of this group.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, also implicated in the case, was remanded to ED custody until March 28, a day after his arrest by the probe agency.