Delhi Excise Policy: Court Rejects BRS Leader K Kavitha’s Bail Plea

BRS leader K. Kavitha was granted bail on Monday by Rouse Avenue in Delhi. The charges were filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate for purported anomalies in the creation and execution of the now-canceled Delhi liquor excise policy 2021–2022. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) detained K. Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, on March 15 and remanded her to the custody of the CBI until March 23. She was then taken into custody by the CBI on April 11 and held at Tihar prison. The BRS leader had requested temporary parole because her son had an exam, and a Delhi court had already set aside its decision to consider her request until April 9.

In addition to K Kavitha, the Delhi liquor policy case has resulted in the arrests of other liquor businesses, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, party associate Arvind Kejriwal, and others by the Enforcement Department. On March 21, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) detained Arvind Kejriwal in connection with a money laundering investigation about purported anomalies in the policy. Arvind Kejriwal’s request for prison release was denied by the Delhi High Court on April 9, dismissing his claim of political retaliation in light of the impending Lok Sabha elections.

Also Read: ED Raids Jharkhand Minister’s Secretary, Uncovers Large Cash Stash

y consider hearing arguments on May 7 on the interim bail of Arvind Kejriwal because of the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections. On April 23, a Delhi court extended the judicial custody of Kejriwal, K. Kavitha, and Aam Aadmi Party’s alleged fund manager for Goa elections, Chanpreet Singh, till May 7 about the money laundering case associated with the subsequently canceled Delhi excise policy. The Rouse Avenue court also prolonged K. Kavitha’s judicial custody until May 7 in the CBI case related to the policy’s cancellation.

ED Raids Jharkhand Minister’s Secretary, Uncovers Large Cash Stash

On Monday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched several Ranchi locales. About the Virendra Ram case, a substantial sum of money has been retrieved from the domestic assistance of Sanjiv Lal, the minister of rural development for Jharkhand Alamgir Alam’s assistant. According to ED sources, the exact quantity of the confiscated cash, which is likely between ₹20 and ₹30 crore, is being counted. Authorities have found some valuables and cash, most of which are in denominations of ₹500, as reported. Alam, a well-known Congressman, is 70 years old and serves as the assemblyman for the Pakur seat in Jharkhand.

Video: Huge cash recovered by the ED in Ranchi

On camera, agents from the Central Investigation Bureau were seen removing bundles of cash from bags in a room. The inquiry by the ED into possible corruption in the rural development department of Jharkhand has advanced. The department’s head engineer, Virendra Ram, was taken into custody in February 2023 on suspicion of money laundering related to anomalies in the execution of government projects.

After junior engineer Suresh Prasad Verma was apprehended for taking a bribe, the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a formal complaint in November 2019. A sizable quantity of cash was found during the ACB’s investigation in a residence owned by Verma and inhabited by his Virendra Ram-affiliated cousin, Alok Ranjan.

Also Read: Former Delhi Congress Chief Arvinder Singh Lovely Joins BJP

In the remand notice from the ED, Ram and his accountant are charged with money laundering through fake transactions. It is said that the money was transferred into other bank accounts held by Ram and his relatives. The money that was allegedly laundered was also allegedly used to buy expensive cars and real properties in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, and New Delhi.

Former Delhi Congress Chief Arvinder Singh Lovely Joins BJP

Arvinder Singh Lovely joined the BJP on Saturday after resigning from his position as leader of the Delhi Congress due to the party’s partnership with the Aam Aadmi Party. The step was conducted after Lovely made it clear that he was resigning from the party post and not the party itself. Lovely expressed disapproval of Kanhaiya Kumar of North East Delhi and Udit Raj of North West Delhi in his resignation letter, which was submitted last week. They were complete strangers to the Delhi Congress, he claimed. He made it clear that he was quitting to get a ticket.

“We have got an opportunity to serve the country and Delhi at a time when we were lost,” he remarked a week after joining the BJP. Five of us leaders joined the BJP today. We’ll take any necessary action to save Delhi from the predicament that has developed over the past few years. The resignation of Arvinder Singh from the position last week was a serious setback for the party in the capital. “It’s false to say that I was upset about how the tickets were distributed. That is not how things are. “You all know that I held a press conference three days ago to introduce the candidates,” Lovely remarked upon his resignation. “I have only resigned as chief of the Delhi Congress; I am not entering any political party.”

Also Read: Pakistan’s Preference for Congress ‘Shehzada’ as PM: Modi Critique and Priyanka’s Response

In his resignation letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lovely stated, “The Delhi Congress unit was against an alliance with a party which was formed on the sole basis of levelling false, half of the party’s cabinet ministers are currently incarcerated on corruption accusations that were made up and falsely brought against the Congress party.” In spite of this, the Congress party decided to form an alliance with the AAP in Delhi. We honored the party’s ultimate decision. Even though it went against my stance on the subject, I even went so far as to visit Mr. (Arvind) Kejriwal’s home the night before he was arrested, together with Mr. Subash Chopra and Mr. Sandeep Dikshit,” he stated.