Bharat Rasthra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha and daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Friday that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is asking her "wrong questions". Calling it a "futile exercise", Kavitha said, "I don’t have anything to say. They ask the same old questions". She has been arrested in connection with a corruption case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. The central probing agency produced the BRS MLC before Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court to seek her sought her five-day police custody.
The court has reserved its order on the agency's plea seeking five-day custody of Kavitha after hearing arguments by the CBI and the counsel appearing for BRS MLC on the application, PTI reported.
According to the PTI report, the CBI informed the court that KCR's daughter was not cooperating in the probe and was "evasive" in her replies. Advocate Nitesh Rana, counsel for the accused, opposed the CBI's plea, terming the arrest as illegal. He further accused the probe agency of violating Kavitha's fundamental rights.
CBI officials had recently questioned Kavitha inside prison after obtaining permission from a special court.
The central probing agency told the court that Kavitha was not cooperating in the investigation and was "evasive" in her replies. According to PTI, advocate Nitesh Rana, counsel for the accused, opposed the CBI's plea, terming the arrest as "illegal".
Kavitha's Link With Delhi Liquor Policy Case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Kavitha (46) from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15, and she was in judicial custody in the case. The daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao is held in Tihar Jail.
Kavitha has been accused of being a key member of the "South group", she has been questioned about the WhatsApp chats recovered from co-accused Buchi Babu's phone and documents related to a land deal. It was after the chat that an amount of Rs 100 crore was allegedly paid to the Delhi-ruling AAP in kickbacks to swing the excise policy for the national capital in favour of a liquor lobby.
The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that one of the accused in the case, Vijay Nair, received kickbacks to the tune of at least ₹100 crores on behalf of AAP leaders from the "South Group". The group was allegedly controlled by Sarath Reddy, Kavitha, and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy.
According to the agency, the "South Group" comprises Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Pharma), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (YSR Congress MP from Andhra Pradesh's Ongole Lok Sabha seat), his son Raghav Magunta, Kavitha and others.