HYDERABAD: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday issued a notice to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha asking her to submit documents related to her travel between Hyderabad and Delhi, hotel bills and call data related to the accused in the Delhi liquor policy scam, to substantiate her statement given to the agency.
The notice was issued under Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) after the officials recorded the MLC’s statement after a seven-and-a-half-hour examination at her Banjara Hills residence on Sunday.The CBI team told her that they would fix a date and place for her next examination and convey the same through email.
A six-member CBI team, including a woman officer, reached Kavitha’s residence at 11 am and left at 6.30 pm. Sources said four officers from New Delhi and two from the Hyderabad zonal unit cross-examined her over the alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy.
A senior Supreme Court lawyer was also present during the examination held on the ground floor office of her residence.The legislator was summoned as a witness in the case under Section 160 of CrPC while the statement was recorded under Section 161.
Sources said the CBI officials asked Kavitha regarding her links with the persons arrested in the case — Boinpally Abhishek Rao, Sharath Chandra Reddy and Amit Arora. The sleuths also reportedly examined her about her links to Robin Distributions director Arun Ramchandran Pillai, who is also one of the accused and has been named in the first information report by the CBI.
Additionally, the officials asked her about her alleged participation in meetings with policymakers, traders and mediators, who are suspects in the case. They also sought to know about the alleged destruction of mobile phones by Kavitha, as was mentioned in Arora’s remand report filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), said sources.
Officials examined her about her communication with Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia regarding the excise policy, said sources, adding that they also asked if she sought from him any concessions for the alleged ‘South Lobby’ in the scam.
Sources said the CBI team recorded the legislator’s responses and returned to New Delhi after completing the examination. The investigating agency is likely to issue another notice under relevant sections of the CrPC summoning her if they are not satisfied with her replies.Several Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLAs and senior leaders, including Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, went to her residence and extended their solidarity.
Speaking to TNIE, Andole MLA Chanti Kranthi Kiran said Kavitha, as a law-abiding citizen and public representative, wants the CBI or ED to investigate Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, who are trying to hinder the investigation into the TRS MLAs poaching case. He alleged that both agencies are being used to harass BJP’s political opponents, who are raising their voices against the ‘unethical measures being adopted by the saffron party’. Both the CBI and ED lost credibility as they were working under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he alleged.
After the completion of the examination, Kavitha waved to the crowd with a wide smile on her face. Later in the evening, she visited Pragathi Bhavan, the CM’s official residence, where she along with her advocate revealed the details of the examination process to her father K Chandrasekhar Rao.