 "K Kavitha")
A day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested K Kavitha, the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on Friday granted custody of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC to the agency till April 15.
The crime investigation agency was seeking a five-day custodial remand of the BRS leader, alleging that Kavitha is concealing facts that are exclusively in her knowledge. CBI further stated that she had not joined the investigation despite notice. "We need 5 days custodial remand of her to unearth the conspiracy," said the agency's public prosecutor.
Calling the leader's arrest by CBI 'illegal', K Kavitha's counsel accused the probe agency of violating fundamental rights.
While seeking custodial remand of BRS leader K Kavitha, CBI claimed that one liquor businessman of South Group met Arvind Kejriwal and sought his support for doing business in Delhi.
"Dinesh Arora, [accused turn approver] has confirmed in his statement that Abhishek Boinpally informed that Rs 100 crores was given to Vijay Nair. Statement of Hawala operators under Section 161 & 164 CrPC confirms the payment of Rs 11.9 crores. Chats recovered from Buchibabu reveal that she was holding a partnership in Indio Spirits. Licenses were given to Indospririts even after being blacklisted due to the pressure of accused Manish Sisodia," said CBI
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"Kejriwal assured him of support... We have sufficient material, WhatsApp chats and statements of the associated accused," said CBI.
The CBI on Thursday arrested K Kavitha in connection with a corruption case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
Kavitha, 46, the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was held in Tihar jail where she was lodged after her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the excise scam case on March 15.
Earlier on Saturday, the CBI, after obtaining permission from a special court, had questioned Kavitha inside the prison. The BRS leader was questioned about WhatsApp chats recovered from co-accused Buchi Babu's phone and documents related to a land deal, after which Rs 100 crore was allegedly paid to AAP in kickbacks to swing the now-scrapped excise policy in favour of a liquor lobby.
K Kavitha is not only under the lens of CBI but also of ED. The probe agency had arrested Kavitha from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad.
It has been alleged that one of the accused, Vijay Nair, received kickbacks to the tune of at least Rs 100 crore from a group called South Group (controlled by Sarath Reddy, Kavitha, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy) on behalf of AAP leaders.
The CBI, which has so far filed three charge sheets against a number of accused, including former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, has alleged that kickbacks worth around Rs 90-100 crore were paid in advance to some AAP leaders and public servants by some people in the liquor business from south India through Nair and co-accused Abhishek Boinpally and Dinesh Arora.
The agency has alleged that these kickbacks were subsequently returned to them out of the profit margins of wholesalers holding L-1 licenses through different modes, like issuance of excess credit notes, bank transfers and outstanding amounts left in accounts of companies controlled by some conspirators from the "South lobby".
The CBI has further alleged that a cartel was formed between three components of the said policy -- liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.
