Hyderabad: A day after the arrest of Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramachandran Pillai in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) served notice on BRS MLC and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter K. Kavitha to appear before it for questioning on Thursday.
Kavitha was questioned by the CBI in December 2022 in connection with the Delhi liquor scam.
ED, in the remand report of Pillai filed in a Delhi Court alleged that he was a benami Kavitha. Pillai represents Kavitha’s business interests in the partnership firm, the ED said. Another accused Prem Rahul is also a benami of Kavitha, said ED in the remand report.
The ED has so far arrested 11 people in connection with the Delhi liquor policy scam probe. Manish Sisodia, the deputy CM of Delhi was the most recent to be arrested by the CBI last week.
Gorantla Buchi Babu and Abhishek Boinpally, both chartered accountants from Hyderabad, were also arrested in connection with the investigation.
Kavitha to seek another date for ED questioning
Responding to the notice served by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning, Kavitha said that she would fully cooperate with the investigation agencies. Since she has to attend the one-day hunger strike organised by women’s organisations and Opposition parties in Delhi on March 10 demanding the BJP government to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill, Kavitha will seek another date to appear before the probe agency.
“These tactics of intimidation against the fight and voice of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the BRS party will not deter us. Under the leadership of KCR, we will continue to expose the failures of the Centre and raise voice for a better future for India,” Kavitha said in the media statement.
As per sources, Kavitha will be confronted with Arun Ramchandra Pillai, who was arrested on Monday night in the case.
In its investigation, ED has come to know that Pillai is one of the key persons in the entire scam involving payments of huge kickbacks and the formation of the biggest cartel of the South Group.
South Group comprises Telangana MLC Kavitha, Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Group), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (MP, Ongole), his son Raghav Magunta, and others. The South Group was being represented by Pillai, Abhishek Boinpalli and Butchi Babu, the federal agency investigation has revealed.
Pillai along with his associates was coordinating with various persons to execute the political understanding between the South Group and a leader of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Pillai has been an accomplice and was involved in the kickbacks from the South Group and the recoupment of the same from the businesses in Delhi, ED investigation reveals.
The ED had earlier said that the South Group gave kickbacks of Rs 100 crore to AAP leaders.
Pillai is learnt to be a partner of 32.5 per cent in Indo Spirits, which had got an L1 licence. Indo Spirits is a partnership firm of Arun Pillai (32.5 per cent), Prem Rahul (32.5 per cent) and Indospirit Distribution Limited (35 per cent), wherein Arun Pillai and Prem Rahul represented the benami investments of Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and his son Raghava Magunta.
Kavitha, who is a member of Telangana Legislative Council, was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the same case in December last year.
ED, last year filed its first chargesheet in the case. The agency said it has so far undertaken nearly 200 search operations in this case after filing FIR after taking cognisance of a CBI case which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi lieutenant governor.
The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary’s report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials had said.
In October, the ED had raided nearly three dozen locations in Delhi and Punjab following the arrest of Sameer Mahendru, Managing Director of Delhi’s Jor Bagh-based liquor distributor Indospirit Group, in the case and arrested him later.
The CBI too filed its first charge sheet in the case early this week.
The ED and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority’s approval. The beneficiaries diverted “illegal” gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.
As per the allegations, the Excise Department had decided to refund the Earnest Money Deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules. Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered licence fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to COVID-19.
This allegedly caused a loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer, which has been instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.
…
