NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has called K Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, to give a statement concerning the Delhi Excise Policy Case on Thursday. Arun Ramchandra Pillai, a businessman from Hyderabad who was detained earlier this week, is anticipated to face her when she appears before the investigators at the ED headquarters.
Pillai has been identified by the ED as a prominent figure in the scheme, which involved the payment of significant kickbacks and the creation of the largest cartel in the South Group. Kavitha is one of the members of the South Group, which was represented by Pillai, Abhishek Boinpalli, and Butchi Babu.
The ED inquiry found that Pillai was involved in the kickbacks from the South Group and their recovery from Delhi-based companies. The South Group offered AAP leaders 100 crore in kickbacks, the agency had previously disclosed.
Arun Pillai, Prem Rahul, and Indospirit Distribution Limited are the owners of Indo Spirits, a partnership company. The benami investments of Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and his son Raghava Magunta were represented by Arun Pillai and Prem Rahul.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had already questioned Kavitha in this case in December 2022. The ED had submitted its initial chargesheet in the case last year and has since conducted close to 200 searches.
The ED and the CBI claimed that improper actions were taken when changing the Excise Policy, that licence holders received improper favours, that the licence fee was waived or decreased, and that the L-1 licence was prolonged without the consent of the appropriate authority. In order to avoid detection, the recipients produced fictitious entries in their books of accounts and channelled "illegal" gains to the charged authorities.
Due to COVID-19, the Excise Department waived the tendered licence fees from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, resulting in an alleged loss to the exchequer of 144.36 crores. This decision was made in violation of the established rules and the Earnest Money Deposit of about 30 crore to a successful tenderer.
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