Excise policy | Kavitha forced businessman SC Reddy to pay AAP Rs 25 cr: CBI to court

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha “threatened” Aurobindo Pharma promoter Sharath Chandra Reddy to pay the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rs 25 crore for the five retail zones allotted to his firm under the Delhi government’s excise policy, the CBI on Friday (April 12) told a special court in Delhi while seeking her custody.

Reddy, an accused in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi liquor scam, has turned an approver in the case. The CBI is yet to file a chargesheet against him.

The court has allowed the CBI Kavitha’s custody till April 15.

CBI’s allegation

The CBI counsel told the court that Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, had threatened Reddy that his business in both Telangana and Delhi would be harmed if he did not pay the amount to the AAP.

Seeking the BRS leader’s custodial interrogation, the CBI told Special Judge Kaveri Baweja that it was at Kavitha’s “insistence and assurance” that Reddy got involved in the liquor business in Delhi. Kavitha had allegedly assured Reddy that she had contacts in the Delhi government and would help him in the liquor business in the national capital under the now-scrapped excise policy.

Kavitha allegedly told Reddy that Rs 25 crore would have to be paid upfront for the wholesale business and Rs 5 crore for each retail zone to the AAP for getting the liquor business. The money “was to be paid to her associates, Arun R Pillai and Abhishek Boinpally, who would coordinate with Vijay Nair, a representative of (Delhi Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal”, the CBI told the court.

Rs 80 lakh paid to Kavitha’s NGO: CBI

According to the agency, in March and May 2021, when the excise policy was being formulated, Pillai, Boinpally, and Butchibabu Gorantla stayed at the Hotel Oberoi in Delhi to swing the policy in their favour through Nair by inserting provisions.

After receiving the assurance of support from Kavitha, Aurobindo Realty and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd paid Rs 80 lakh to her NGO, Telangana Jagruthi, under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in March 2021, the CBI has alleged.

Forced to buy land: CBI

“The investigation has further revealed that in June-July 2021, K Kavitha had compelled Sharath Chandra Reddy to enter into a sale agreement with her for an agricultural land situated at Mahboob Nagar, Telangana, although he was not keen to purchase the said agricultural land and also not aware of the value of the said land,” it has said.

Kavitha “insisted’ that Reddy pay Rs 14 crore against the land and “forced” him to enter into the sale agreement through Mahira Ventures Pvt Ltd, one of the Aurobindo Group companies, in July 2021, the CBI has told the court, citing Reddy’s statement and its investigation so far.

It said a total payment of Rs 14 crore was made to Kavitha through bank transactions — Rs 7 crore in July 2021 and another Rs 7 crore in mid-November 2021. The agency has also alleged that in November and December of 2021, Kavitha asked Reddy to pay Rs 25 crore (Rs 5 crore per zone for the five retail zones allotted to him).

The BRS leader had claimed that she herself paid Rs 100 crore as upfront money on Reddy’s behalf to the AAP through Nair for getting favourable provisions in the excise policy, the agency claimed.

AAP’s charge

“However, when Sarath Chandra Reddy showed his reluctance to pay the demanded money, K Kavitha threatened Sarath Chandra Reddy to harm his business in Telangana and Delhi under the excise policy,” the agency has alleged, citing Reddy’s statement.

The AAP alleged on March 24 that Reddy’s company had paid the BJP Rs 59.5 crore through electoral bonds.

“The companies owned by Sarath Reddy bought electoral bonds and donated money to the BJP. Now, this money trail has been exposed in front of the country. Reddy purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 4.5 crore while the excise policy was being formulated and after his arrest, he purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 55 crore and the money went to the BJP. So, the money trail that has been sought for the past two years is here,” Delhi minister Atishi had alleged.

(With agency inputs)