Arrested BRS Leader Kavitha Brought to Delhi ED Office from Hyderabad

According to the ED, Kavitha was a part of the "South Group" lobby of spirits dealers who hoped to gain more influence from the now-canceled Delhi excise scheme for 2021–2022.

BRS leader K Kavitha being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from her residence in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, in Hyderabad.

HYDERABAD: Following an hours-long raid at her Hyderabad home, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested BRS leader K Kavitha and took her to Delhi to be questioned in connection with a money laundering case involving the now-canceled Delhi excise policy, according to agency sources.

Around midnight, according to sources, the head of BRS arrived at the agency's headquarters in the nation's capital.

According to ED officials, her preliminary statement was recorded during the search that started at 1:45 pm in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and her husband D R Anil Kumar was notified about her detention.

On Saturday, she is scheduled to appear before a specific PMLA court, where the agency intends to request her remand for questioning while in custody.

Her Hyderabad home was searched by ED agents for over three hours before she was taken into prison.

There was tension at Kavitha's house since a lot of BRS activists had gathered there in an attempt to block the ED officers who were going to take her into custody. However, Kavitha has a plane ticket booked by ED officers, and she will be transferred to Delhi tonight.

Vemula Prashanth Reddy, the former minister of Telangana and head of the BRS, stated that Kavitha was flown to Delhi at 8:45 p.m.

He claimed that they will demonstrate against the "pre-planned" change.


At Kavitha's home, a sizable contingent of party workers, including former minister Harish Rao and BRS working president K T Rama Rao, shouted slogans.

In an interview with TNIE, P Mohith Rao, Kavitha's attorney, stated: "Her client's arrest is unlawful, unjustified, and unconstitutional."

We are keeping a careful eye on the circumstances. We can pursue legal action to prevent her detention if necessary, Rao stated.

In a letter that this publication was able to get, Rao added that the Supreme Court was still deliberating over the petition that contested the 2022 case's processes and Kavitha's summons, and that the hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, March 19.

He added that the case was scheduled for hearing on September 16, 2018, when the Supreme Court

was going to issue a directive providing a particular protective or restraint order. No such action would be taken, according to a declaration filed to the Apex court by S.V. Raju, the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) for the ED.

The statement was asked to be reversed and withdrawn today, when the matter was scheduled for a final hearing and resolution on March 19. The Supreme Court did not acknowledge this, and the case has been moved until March 19. In light of the foregoing, Rao's letter stated that the ED would be prohibited from summoning Kavitha or adopting any coercive action.

The Enforcement Directorate said that Kavitha was tied to a "South Group" lobby of spirits traders attempting to play a larger role under the now-defunct Delhi excise strategy for 2021-22.


The Enforcement Directorate has charged that one of the accused in the case, Vijay Nair, got kickbacks of at least Rs 100 crore from the "South Group" (supposedly managed by Sarath Reddy, Kavitha, and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy) on behalf of AAP officials.

Even as she waved at them, police officers removed her supporters who were blocking the truck taking her.

According to a video posted by BRS, Kavitha's brother and the party's working president, KT Rama Rao, were seen disputing with ED personnel, claiming the agency had broken an undertaking granted to the Supreme Court.

"You are in serious trouble," he said to the officials in the video, which went viral.

In the video, he also claimed that family members were not permitted to enter the residence once the searches were completed.


"The search is over, an arrest warrant has been produced, and she (the ED officer) has told you not to come in. "Family cannot come in, and she claims they have no transit warrant and cannot appear before a magistrate, but she wants to make a case," he added.

Reacting to her arrest, Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy told reporters that ED raids are part of the investigation.

"She was also avoiding questioning by the ED by citing various reasons. "If Kavitha is not guilty and is not involved in the liquor case, she should appear before the ED or CBI to prove her innocence," Reddy added.

Recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) summoned Kavitha to appear before it for questioning. She chose to dodge it, though. Kavitha likewise escaped the ED's summons some time ago.

Although Kavitha was not identified as an accused in the liquor scam charge sheet, the ED and CBI interrogated her under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Interestingly, Kavitha was arrested only minutes before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in Hyderabad's Malkajgiri Lok Sabha segment.