Kavitha named accused in Delhi excise policy scam

The CBI summons to BRS MLC K Kavitha in the Delhi liquor scam has sent shock waves in the pink party. Though she had been questioned in the past by the ED and CBI as a suspect, the difference this time is that she has been mentioned as an accused in the chargesheet.

The CBI served notices to Kavitha under Section 41A of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Notice under 41A is given to either a suspect or an accused. In the past she was just a suspect and hence the CBI went to her house for questioning but this time since she has been named as an accused she may have to physically appear before the CBI in Delhi on February 28. If she skips the inquiry, the CBI may approach the court for an arrest warrant, sources said.

There were allegations by the Enforcement Directorate that Kavitha had damaged all her cell phones. Her personal assistant Ashok Kaushik, who had become an approver in an affidavit in the court, stated that Abhishek Boinapally had given money to four key persons in the Delhi government ruled by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). During Kavitha’s tenure as an MP, Kaushik was her PA.

But party sources said that Kavitha was consulting her legal team since she had challenged the ED summons in the Supreme Court which was still pending in the apex court.

The party feels that this was arm-twisting tactics of the BJP government since the notice had come at a time when the poll schedule is to be announced soon.

On the other hand, Union Minister Ashwini Choubey, while addressing BJP’s Vijaya Sankalp Yatra in the state on Friday, said Kavitha would be arrested along with Arvind Kejriwal. He even said that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was questioning the DNA of Biharis and he may also go to jail.