BRS Leader K Kavitha’s House Raided Over Delhi Liquor Policy Case
The Enforcement Directorate has raided the house of BRS Leader K Kavitha in Hyderabad in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. The action comes after the leader skipped several summons issued by the agency.
Ms Kavitha is a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) in Telangana and is the daughter of Bharat Rashtra Samithi Chief and former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao. While she has been questioned in the case earlier, she has skipped at least two summons this year.
The ED has alleged that Ms Kavitha was part of the ‘South Group’, which played a key role in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. The other members of the group, according to the agency, were Hyderabad businessman Sarath Reddy, YSR Congress Party MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy and his son Raghav Magunta Reddy. Some of these men have turned approvers.
The group was represented by businessmen Arun Pillai and Abhishek Boinpally, and a chartered accountant, Buchi Babu.
Kickbacks, Proxy Ownership
The ED’s case is that the Delhi liquor policy 2021-22 provided an exceptionally high profit margin of 12% for wholesalers and nearly 185% for retailers. Of the 12%, six was to be recovered from wholesalers as kickbacks for AAP leaders and the South Group allegedly gave Rs 100 crore in advance to another accused, Vijay Nair, who was linked to the AAP.
In exchange, Nair allegedly promised the South Group a stake in the Delhi liquor business, which it did not have access to until then. Officials said the group was also allowed to hold more retail licences than were permitted under the policy, and was also given other undue benefits.
One of the entities linked to the group was Indospirits, whose MD was Sameer Mahendru. Arun Pillai and Prem Rahul Manduri, another person linked to the group, had a 65% stake in the company, and Kavitha and the Reddys were partners via proxies, officials said.
They claimed Vijay Nair had asked Mahendru to give a stake in the company to Pillai and Manduri. In exchange, Indospirits was promised the wholesale business of Pernod Ricard, one of the largest liquor manufacturers, which has brands like Chivas Regal, Absolut, Jameson and Blenders Pride.
Nair, officials claimed, was working on behalf of then Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia – who is now in jail in the case – and Pillai has allegedly admitted to being Ms Kavitha’s representative in Indospirits.
