After the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K. Kavitha on Thursday in connection with the Delhi Excise policy case. Kavitha, who is currently under ED arrest at Tihar Jail, was apprehended from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15.
The arrest followed a Delhi court’s approval to the CBI to question the BRS MLA. Special judge Kaveri Baweja permitted the CBI to interview Kavitha in jail after submitting a written notice to the jail superintendent a day earlier.
Also Read:Delhi Excise Policy case: BRS leader K Kavitha sent to judicial custody till April 9
It is alleged that Kavitha was involved in a ‘South Group’ that allegedly paid Rs 100 crore in advance as kickbacks through then Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) communication and media in charge Vijay Nair, representing certain AAP leaders.
According to the probe agencies, she and other members of the group conspired with AAP leaders including Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia to obtain licensing for liquor shops under the excise policy.
Also Read:CBI summons BRS’s K Kavitha in Delhi liquor scam on February 26
Following her arrest, the ED identified Kavitha as a key figure and principal conspirator in the case.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, jailed Kavitha penned a letter alleging that the ongoing investigations by central agencies and the subsequent ‘media trial’ have tarnished her reputation and breached her privacy.
“Madam Justice, as the whole nation witnessed, past two and a half years of “Never Ending”, ED and CBI investigation has turned into a media trial. Being a woman politician, I am the most victimised in the process, severely denting my personal and political reputation. My personal mobile phone number was displayed on all television channels, directly invading my privacy,” the letter read.
In the letter Kavitha further claimed that during parliamentary sessions, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) openly issued threats to opposition figures of potential visits from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).