Kavitha was arrested by the central agency on Friday from Hyderabad. She was produced before a special PMLA court the next day, which sent her to ED custody until March 23.
K Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, conspired with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and some other party leaders for favours in the liquor policy, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed. According to the probe agency, Kavitha allegedly paid Rs 100 crore to the AAP leaders in exchange for favours. The agency said that illegal funds, in the form of kickbacks from wholesalers, were generated for the AAP by “acts of corruption and conspiracy”.
“In exchange of these favours, she was involved in paying Rs 100 crores to the leaders of AAP. By the acts of corruption and conspiracy in the formulation and implementation of Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, a continuous stream of illegal funds in the form of kickbacks, from the wholesalers was generated for the AAP,” ED said.
The agency further said that Kavitha and her associates were to recover the proceeds of crime paid in advance to AAP and to further generate profits/proceeds of crime from this entire conspiracy. “Till date, the ED has conducted searches on 245 locations across the country including Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and other places. 15 Persons including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Vijay Nair from AAP have been arrested in the case so far.”
The AAP, however, refuted all the charges against Kejriwal claiming it an attempt to malign the latter’s image in the view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the country. “On earlier occasions too, ED has released such blatantly false and frivolous statements which show that instead of being a neutral investigative agency, it is working like a political wing of BJP,” AAP said in a statement.
The party also alleged the probe agency wasn’t able to recover any money despite conducting raids at over 500 locations in the case. “ED’s statement, which presents no new fact or evidence, speaks volumes of its frustration since they have not recovered a single rupee or piece of evidence in this case, despite carrying out over 500 raids and questioning thousands of witnesses,” it added.
Kavitha was arrested by the central agency on Friday from Hyderabad. She was produced before a special PMLA court the next day, which sent her to ED custody until March 23. This action came shortly after intensive searches were conducted by the ED and the Income Tax department at her residence in Hyderabad. The ED had previously accused Kavitha of being involved in a ‘South Group’ that allegedly transferred Rs 100 crore as kickbacks to AAP leaders. These transactions were believed to be in exchange for illicit advantages linked to the now-defunct Delhi excise policy.
Till date, the ED has conducted searches on 245 locations across the country, including Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and other places, the ED spokesperson was quoted as saying by The Indian Express on Monday, adding that 15 persons, including Sisodia, Nair and Sanjay Singh from the AAP, have been arrested.
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