Delhi court sends Kavitha to CBI custody till April 15

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday sent Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha to Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) custody for three days, till April 15, in a case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Court pronounced the order after hearing both parties at length.

The CBI, which arrested Kavitha from the Tihar Jail on Thursday and produced her before a Delhi court on Friday, had sought five days custody on the grounds that witness statements, retrieved WhatsApp chats, and financial transaction documents related to a land deal have implicated her as a major conspirator in a scheme to pay Rs 100 crore to the AAP through accused Vijay Nair and others, in exchange for favourable provisions in Delhi’s 2021-22 Excise Policy.

The CBI has said that investigations revealed that a liquor businessman from South India met Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on March 16, 2021, at the Delhi Secretariat to seek support for business under the new Excise Policy for 2021-22.

CM Kejriwal allegedly assured support and said that Kavitha would contact him about funding the AAP. “Kavitha called the businessman on March 19 and met him on March 20 in Hyderabad, where she referenced her coordination with Kejriwal’s team on the Excise Policy,” the CBI has claimed.

The CBI’s investigation revealed that chats from the mobile of her CA Butchi Babu indicate her involvement in M/s Indospirit through proxy Arun R Pillai.