 "Delhi excise case: Court extends BRS leader K Kavitha's custody till July 3")
The Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on Monday extended the judicial custody of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha till July 3.
She was produced before the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi on June 3 at the end of her judicial custody period in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case related to the alleged Delhi liquor excise case.
The BRS leader was arrested on March 15.
Earlier last week, a Delhi court on Wednesday took cognisance of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the ED against Kavitha and others in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam.
The excise case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22.
Lt Governor V K Saxena had recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities. Subsequently, the ED filed a case on August 22, 2022 on the basis of the CBI FIR that was lodged on August 17 the same year.
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The ED had alleged that the BRS leader conspired with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and paid Rs 100 crore to the party to garner favours in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
The ED questioned Kavitha thrice last year in this case and summoned her again this year, but she did not depose, citing a Supreme Court direction that allowed her protection from any coercive action.
The ED, terming Kavitha as “one of the kingpins and a key conspirator” of the Delhi excise policy scam, said that she and her associates were to recover the proceeds of the crime paid in advance to the AAP to further generate profits. While seeking her remand, the agency told the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court that she was a key beneficiary of the scam.
Meanwhile, Kavitha has asserted that the Centre was ‘using’ the ED as the BJP could not gain a ‘backdoor entry’ into Telangana. Her plea challenging the arrest by the ED is pending before the SC. The AAP has accused the BJP of using ED and CBI as its ‘goons’ to finish off political opponents.