Relief for BRS supporters as Kavitha walked out of the ED office at about 8 pm, after nine hours of questioning.
BRS MLC K Kavitha after her almost nine-hour-long first round questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in New Delhi. (Supplied)
After almost nine hours of grilling by officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), BRS MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla emerged from their office on APJ Abdul Kalam Road in New Delhi at about 8 pm on Saturday, 11 March.
As she walked out of the office, BRS workers who were milling around outside all day, heaved a sigh of relief as they had been suspecting that the ED might arrest her after questioning Kavitha for her alleged role in the infamous Delhi Excise Policy scam.
According to sources, Kavitha has been asked to appear before the ED again on 16 March.
The BRS MLC appeared a little tired as she walked through the main gate of the office to the car waiting for her. She did not wave at the crowd but got into the car and was driven to her father and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s residence on Tughlak Road in the national capital, barely a kilometre-and-a-half away.
BRS ministers and leaders went through an agonising time not knowing whether the ED would take the extreme step of arresting her or would let her off after questioning.
They expected that she would walk out of the office by 5 pm, but as she did not materialise even as the hours went by, they began wondering whether the ED would announce her arrest.
But in a major relief for them, Kavitha came out of the ED’s office and, after reaching KCR’s residence to a traditional welcome, greeted all those who were waiting for her.
By then she seemed to have recovered a bit and wished them with a smiling face.
Later, she was closeted with her brother and IT Minister KT Rama Rao, other important leaders, and advocates and presumably apprised them of what transpired at the ED’s Pravartan Bhawan office.
Later Kavitha, Rama Rao, and the remaining BRS leaders left for Hyderabad.
BRS legislator B Ganesh Gupta, who spoke to her after her grilling by the ED, told the media: “Kavitha was unperturbed. That is because she had not done anything wrong. The questioning by the ED is part of wreaking political vendetta.”
BRS MLC K Kavitha receiving a traditional welcome on her return from ED questioning. (Supplied)
“She will appear before ED on 16 March once again, but they would not be able to prove anything. They are making a mountain out of a molehill,” he added, while another legislator, Ch Kranthi Kiran, said that as a law-abiding citizen, Kavitha would appear before the ED again on the appointed day.
A four-member investigating team led by a joint director rank officer, along with a woman officer, questioned Kavitha with the help of a questionnaire prepared with help of information collected from the statements given by former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and her three alleged “representatives” — Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramachandran Pillai, beauty salon chain owner Abhishek Boinpally, and chartered accountant Gorantla Butchibabu — who are all in ED custody.
The ED team is believed to have showered questions on Kavitha about her alleged involvement in the scam and the ₹100 crore in kickbacks paid to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) media in-charge and Sisodia’s representative Vijay Nair.
Since the beginning of the case, the CBI and ED have been saying that a so-called “South Group”, comprising pharma company director Sarath Chandra Reddy, YSRCP MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, and his Magunta Raghava, and Kavitha, played a crucial role in the scam.
It is learnt that the ED team also questioned the BRS MLC about the alleged tampering of evidence by destroying her previous mobile phones after the scam came to light.
It examined Kavitha’s existing phone in detail. It primarily focussed on how she came in contact with Sisodia and how the amount was paid to the AAP with the help of her three representatives.
As Sisodia, Arun Pillai and others are already in custody, the ED questioned her with their help to corroborate their statements.
Based on the questionnaire, the ED is believed to have posed questions on her financial transactions, source of income and the paying of ₹100 crore as kickbacks to the AAP in lieu of undue favours in the liquor business.
As Kavitha was being questioned inside the ED’s office, the BRS women workers went to town both in New Delhi and in Hyderabad, belching fire and brimstone against BJP state unit president Bandi Sanjay Kumar for making derogatory comments about Kavitha while lambasting her for her role in liquor scam.
Two ministers — Satyavathi Rathod and Sabitha Indra Reddy — who were in Delhi, lashed out at the BJP leader, while, in Hyderabad, city Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, along with BRS corporators and their supporters, staged a protest at Raj Bhavan after the Governor denied her an appointment.
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