The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday grilled BRS leader K Kavitha for over 10 hours after she appeared before the agency for a second round of questioning in the money laundering probe linked to the Delhi excise policy ‘scam’.
Kavitha entered the ED headquarters here at 10:30 AM and after making formalities like marking attendance, her questioning and recording of statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act began at about 11 AM and continued till about 9.30 PM, officials said.
The 44-year-old Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has been asked to appear again on Tuesday, they said.
She was first questioned in the case on March 11 for around nine hours following which she was summoned again on March 16.Kavitha had skipped the deposition last week citing her pending plea before the Supreme Court for relief against the ED action in the case. The agency, however, rejected her claims and asked her to depose on March 20. The apex court has fixed hearing on her petition on March 24.
On March 11, Kavitha was confronted with the statements made by Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai, an arrested accused in the case who allegedly shares close ties with her, apart from some other suspects in the case.
During Monday’s session, Kavitha is said to have been physically confronted with Pillai and her former auditor Butchibabu Gorantla, officials said.
The ED has been on record stating that Pillai "represented the South Group", an alleged liquor cartel linked to Kavitha and others, that paid kickbacks amounting to about Rs 100 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to gain a larger share of the market in the national capital under the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2020-21.
The "South Group" comprises Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Pharma), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (YSR Congress MP from Ongole Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh), his son Raghav Magunta, Kavitha and others, according to the ED.