New Delhi: After ED, CBI arrests Kavitha in liquor gate

New Delhi : The reappears to be no early end to the woes of BRS MLC K Kavitha as the CBI on Thursday arrested her in connection with a corruption case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

Kavitha, who is in Tihar jail after her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the excise ‘scam’ from March 15, was questioned inside the prison on Saturday by the CBI after obtaining permission from a special court.

The BRS leader was questioned on 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 Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in kickbacks to swing the now-scrapped excise policy in favour of a liquor lobby.

The CBI arrested Kavitha in jail number 6 of Tihar prison around 12 noon on Thursday under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 477-A (falsification of accounts) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 7 (offence relating to public servant being bribed) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the officials said.

While Kavitha will remain in Tihar jail on Thursday, the agency is likely to produce her before a court on Friday to seek her remand. If the CBI gets her remand, Kavitha will be moved to the agency headquarters, where she will be questioned by officers of the Anti-Corruption Branch.

The CBI had alleged that one of the accused, Vijay Nair, received kickbacks to the tune of at least Rs 100 crore from the 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".