New Delhi: A Delhi court has extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of Bharat Rashtriya Samithi (BRS) legislator K Kavitha till March 26 in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi excise policy case.
Special judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order on Saturday, directing the ED to produce Kavitha before the court on March 26. The federal agency sought an extension of five more days of custody, arguing that the BRS leader’s mobile phone data needed further examination.
The ED told the court that mobile phone data extracted from Kavitha’s devices revealed the deletion of information during the investigation. Officials also stated they were conducting searches at the residence of her nephew.
On Friday, the Supreme Court denied Kavitha’s anticipatory bail and asked her to approach the relevant trial court for relief. The ED had arrested Kavitha from her Hyderabad residence on March 15 following day-long raids and questioning.
Initially remanded to four days of ED custody, Kavitha, through her lawyer, maintained she was not pressing for bail at this stage but only seeking notice from the investigating agency.
While not named as an accused, court documents refer to Kavitha as a “key person” in alleged irregularities about the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy last year.
The ED case is that she was part of a cartel that paid AAP leaders kickbacks for liquor vend rights.
The CBI has also listed Kavitha in its probe under criminal sections of the law. She has skipped its summons, citing exemption from the Supreme Court. The two federal agencies are conducting parallel investigations into the 2021-22 excise policy case.
