‘K Kavitha Forced Sharath Reddy To Pay ₹25 Crore To AAP’: CBI In Court
BRS leader K Kavitha, an accused in the Delhi excise policy case, allegedly threatened Aurobindo Pharma’s promoter Sharath Chandra Reddy to cough up ₹25 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party in exchange for five retail zones in the national capital, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told a special court on Friday, while seeking her custody. The court later sent her to CBI custody till April 15.
The CBI accused K Kavitha of threatening to harm Sharath Reddy’s business if he didn’t pay the money for alleged kickbacks to the Aam Aadmi Party.
Sharath Chandra Reddy, a co-accused being probed by the Enforcement Directorate in the liquor policy case, has turned approver.
The CBI told special judge Kaveri Baweja that Reddy participated in the liquor business in Delhi only on the “insistence and assurance” of K Kavitha, who is the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, reported PTI.
“K Kavitha further told Sharath Chandra Reddy that the payments of upfront money of ₹25 crores for wholesale business and ₹5 crores for each retail zone were to be made to the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi Government for getting liquor business and the same was to be paid to her associates Arun R. Pillai and Abhishek Boinpally, who would in turn coordinate with Vijay Nair, who was a representative of Arvind Kejriwal,” the CBI has alleged.
The Enforcement Directorate had arrested K Kavitha in March. The CBI arrested her on Thursday, days after questioning her.
The agency claimed she had not answered its queries even when confronted with evidence.
The agency has alleged that between March and May 2021, K Kavitha’s associates — Arun R Pillai, Abhishek Boinpally and Butchibabu Gorantla — stayed at Hotel Oberoi in Delhi to insert provisions in the now-scrapped policy that favoured them.
It claimed that after receiving assurance of support from K Kavitha, Reddy’s company Aurobindo Reality and Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd paid ₹80 lakh to her NGO Telangana Jagruthi.
CBI alleged that in June-July 2021, K Kavitha compelled Sharath Chandra Reddy to enter into a sale agreement with her for an agricultural land situated at Mahboob Nagar, Telangana.
The agency said Reddy wasn’t willing to enter the deal and he was forced into entering the sale agreement. It said Kavitha insisted him to pay ₹14 crore.
She also allegedly asked Sharath Reddy to pay ₹25 crore to AAP at the rate of ₹5 crore per retail zone in Delhi.
“However, when Sarath Chandra Reddy showed his reluctance to pay the demanded money, K Kavitha threatened Sarath Chandra Reddy to harm his business in Telangana and in Delhi under the Excise Policy,” the agency alleged.
K Kavitha is accused of being part of the South Group that allegedly paid kickbacks of ₹100 crore to AAP for licenses under the liquor policy.
The Aam Aadmi Party last month alleged that Reddy’s firm had paid ₹59.5 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds.
“Reddy purchased electoral bonds worth ₹4.5 crore while the excise policy was being formulated and after his arrest, he purchased electoral bonds worth ₹55 crore and the money went to the BJP,” AAP leader Atishi had claimed.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested over a money-laundering case linked to the excise policy case. Manish Sisodia has been in jail over similar charges since February 2023. AAP claims action against its leaders was part of the BJP’s political vendetta and that no money trail had been established.
Earlier this week, defense minister Rajnath Singh dismissed the Opposition’s charge of misuse of agencies over Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, wondering why the courts didn’t provide him relief in the case.