Excise scam: CBI produces BRS leader K Kavitha before court, seeks 5-day custody

New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI) The CBI on Thursday produced Bharat Rasthra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha, arrested in connection with a corruption case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, before a court here and sought her five-day police custody.

The daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao was held in Tihar Jail, where she has been lodged after her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), they said.

The CBI told the court that Kavitha was not cooperating in the investigation and was evasive in her replies.

Advocate Nitesh Rana, counsel for the accused, opposed the CBI’s plea, terming the arrest as illegal.

CBI officials had recently questioned Kavitha inside prison after obtaining permission from a special court.

The BRS leader was questioned about the WhatsApp chats recovered from co-accused Buchi Babu’s phone and documents related to a land deal, after which an amount of Rs 100 crore was allegedly paid to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in kickbacks to swing the excise policy for the national capital in favour of a liquor lobby.

The ED arrested Kavitha (46) from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15, and she was in judicial custody in the case.