2. Excise ‘scam’ accused Kavitha moved from one custody to another

 

2. Excise ‘scam’ accused Kavitha moved from one custody to another

What The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested K Kavitha — already under the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) custody at Tihar jail — in connection with a corruption case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader is accused of allegedly paying Rs 100 crore to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders in return for liquor licences in the Capital. The CBI officials had recently questioned Kavitha inside the prison, regarding WhatsApp chats recovered from a co-accused's phone and documents related to a land deal, suggesting kickbacks paid to AAP. The ED case The daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao was arrested by the ED from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on March 15 and was named as one of the kingpins and key conspirators in the case. It was also alleged that she “orchestrated” a deal with Delhi CM Kejriwal and his former deputy Manish Sisodia, where she, along with other members of the ‘South Group’, paid kickbacks “through a string of intermediaries and middlemen” to gain access to the excise policy formation. AAP crisis Kejriwal's PA Bibhav Kumar — sacked by Delhi's Directorate of Vigilance on Wednesday in a 2007 case for preventing a government official from discharging duties — is planning to move the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) against the decision. Kumar faces the police case in Noida for allegedly assaulting a public servant, the vigilance department stated in its order, adding that this information was not revealed during his appointment as the private secretary. One aspect he is likely to raise, says AAP legal, is the timing of the order. He also plans to term the order ‘unconstitutional’.