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in the Delhi liquor scam case by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Friday. The two leaders are likely to be brought face-to-face while questioning, as per sources.
There was a conspiracy behind framing the now-scrapped excise policy, the ED told the court on Friday, while seeking 10-day custody of Sisodia, adding that his aide Vijay Nair was coordinating the whole conspiracy. “The scam has multiple branches which involves government functionaries and middlemen and others,” the ED said.
The central probe agency has also named BRS leader K Kavitha as part of the conspiracy. “Between key players from South group to Vijay Nair to kickbacks paid, the conspiracy was orchestrated by Nair and others from south group including K Kavitha,” the ED told the court.
The statement of K Kavitha’s former auditor Buchibabu was also read in court. The ED said, “He has disclosed that there was a political understanding between Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and K Kavitha. She also met Vijay Nair.”
The ED also noted that “destruction of digital evidence was done to derail the investigation.” The agency told the court that 14 phones were destroyed in a span of one year. “He (Sisodia) has also used sim cards and phones purchased in other person’s names so that he can give an excuse later,” the agency claimed.
The ED said it is seeking Sisodia’s remand to examine the money trail. The ED said Sisodia, in his statements, “has remained untrue and has given answers contrary to the statement given by independent people.”
Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan appearing for Sisodia argued that in cases of money laundering, one must examine the concealment, possession, and use of the funds and trace them back to the individual. “However, in my case, not even a single penny has been linked to me. It is amusing to suggest that Vinay Nair acted as a representative of Manish Sisodia. The investigative authorities have failed to solve even a tiny portion of the alleged money trail.”
After hearing the arguments, the court deferred its ruling on the Enforcement Directorate’s request for a 10-day remand of Manish Sisodia. Later, the court ruled to send AAP leader Manish Sisodia to ED custody till March 17.
Sisodia was arrested by the ED on Thursday after his second round of questioning at Tihar Jail in connection with its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy.
Sisodia has been in judicial custody since the CBI arrested him on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi liquor or excise policy for 2021-22.
Have Done Nothing Wrong, Says K Kavitha
Meanwhile, K Kavitha — daughter of Telangana Chief Minister M K Chandrasekhar Rao — has also been summoned by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the excise policy.
She was summoned by the ED to depose before it on Thursday, but the agency agreed to her request to appear on March 11 as she has announced a hunger strike on March 10 in support for the women’s reservation bill.
The BRS leader on Thursday said she has done nothing wrong and alleged that targeting leaders using probe agencies has been the BJP’s modus operandi at the time of elections.
Since last June, the central government has been constantly sending agencies such as the ED to Telangana, Kavitha Kalvakuntla (44), a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC, said. It has conducted Income Tax raids on more than 500 businesses, NIA raids on 500 to 600 people, ED raids in 200 places and CBI raids in 100 places, Kavitha alleged.
“This is not my issue alone. In our party, minimum 15-16 leaders, including MPs and MLAs, have been targeted in different cases,” she said. “The question is why? The Telangana assembly polls are due in November-December. The modus operandi of the BJP has been that before (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi, ED reaches wherever elections are there,” Kavitha said and added that “we have seen that the BJP has used backdoor entry in nine states, and they are unable to do it in Telangana, which is why they are using the ED now, but we are not afraid”.
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