HYDERABAD: TRS MLC and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha has been issued a notice under Section 160 of CrPC by the Central Bureau of Investigation to appear before it as a witness in the investigation pertaining to the Delhi excise policy scam.
Kavitha has been asked to present herself for examination by the CBI at 11 am on December 6 at either Hyderabad or Delhi as per her convenience. “During the course of investigation of the subject cited case (the Delhi excise policy scam), certain facts have emerged with which you may be acquainted with, hence your examination on such facts is required in the interest of investigation,” the notice issued by Alok Kumar Shahi, Deputy Superintendent of Police, CBI, ACB, New Delhi states.
Reacting to the CBI notice, Kavitha sent a message to mediapersons on Friday night acknowledging the same. “I’ve been issued a CBI notice under Section 160 of CrPC, seeking my clarification. I have informed the authorities, that I can meet them at my residence in Hyderabad on Dec 6 as per their request,” she said.
Alok Shahi’s notice states that the “subject cited case has been registered” on the basis of a written complaint by Praveen Kumar, Director, MHA, Government of India vide OM No.14035/06/2022-Delhi-1 dated 22/07/2022 u/s 12-B r/w Section 7 of the PC Act and Section 477-A of the IPC against Manish Sisodia and 14 others regarding the allegations pertaining to the Delhi government’s excise policy. A couple of days ago, Kavitha was named by the Enforcement Directorate in a remand report filed with regard to businessman Amit Arora in the scam. This was the first time Kavitha’s name was mentioned on record by the ED. Arora is a close aide of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
ED report led Kavitha to hit out at BJP
The ED in its report said that Vijay Nair received kickbacks to the tune of `100 crore on behalf of the AAP government from what it called the South Group, controlled by Sarath Reddy, Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy.
When her name figured in the ED report, Kavitha reacted strongly on Thursday saying the Bharatiya Janata Party was up to its old tricks and that she was not afraid of being arrested if matters came to that. “Do you want to put me in jail? Then do it. I will not stop working for the people of Telangana,” the
MLC asserted stating that it had become a norm for the BJP to use the ED to unnerve its political rivals in states where elections were due.