Delhi excise policy: ED to quiz BRS leader Kavitha's ex-auditor on Mar 15

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Butchibabu Gorantla, alleged to be a former auditor of Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha, to confront him with another arrested accused in the Delhi excise policy money laundering case.

The federal agency has asked Butchibabu, out on bail after the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested him in this case, to depose on March 15, a day before the scheduled second round of questioning of Telangana MLC Kavitha.

The agency made this disclosure on Monday before a local court in Delhi while seeking an extension of custody of Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramachandran Pillai, whom it had arrested on March 6.

The court extended Pillai's remand by three more days.

In the remand note for Pillai, the ED told the court that Butchibabu was initially asked to join the probe on March 9 but he sought adjournment till March 13 citing health issues.

"He has been summoned again for March 15," the Enforcement Directorate said.

The agency also informed the court that Pillai and Butchibabu were staying at a Hyderabad five-star hotel in mid-March, during the period when the GoM report on the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy was being formulated.

"It has been revealed that the hotel's business centre has been used by the said persons staying there," the ED said, adding it has sought details from the hotel on this and it was awaited.

"It is crucial to interrogate Pillai in ED custody while confronting him with the hotel records so as to investigate the link between South Group (represented by Pillai, Butchibabu and another arrested accused in the case Abhishek Boinpally) and Vijay Nair/GoM (headed by former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia) at the time of policy formulation," it said.

Nair, a communication in charge of Aam Aadmi Party, was arrested by the ED in this case earlier.

Kavitha was questioned and confronted with the statements of Pillai on March 11 by the ED and she has been asked to depose again on March 16.

The agency had earlier alleged that the "South Group" was a liquor cartel linked to Kavitha and others that paid kickbacks amounting to about Rs 100 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party to gain a larger share of the market in the national capital under the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2020-21.

The "South Group", according to the ED, "comprises" Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Pharma), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (YSR Congress MP from the Ongole Lok Sabha seat in Andhra Pradesh), his son Raghav Magunta, Kavitha and others.

The ED also alleged in Pillai's remand papers that he "represented the benami investments" of Kavitha in the case.

The BRS leader was earlier questioned by the CBI in connection with the case.