Phone Tapping Case: ‘Father’ faux pas?

New Delhi: Did the Enforcement Directorate (ED) mention the name of former chief minister and BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao in the Delhi liquor scam and allege that Kavitha had met Buchibabu, Abhishek Boinapally, Sharat Chandra Reddy, Arun Ramachandra Pillai and also Sameer Mahendru at the official residence of KCR at Tughlaq Road in Delhi?

This news went viral both on news channels and social media and speculations were making rounds that perhaps the former CM could be the next one to be probed by the ED.

But the BRS refuted the claims saying that the counter filed by the Enforcement Directorate had reference to the BRS chief. Advocate Mohit Rao, who was present in the court, said there was no word about KCR in the counter.

The reference to ‘father’ was in regard to Magunta Raghav, who gave a statement that his father Srinivasulu Reddy knows all about the policy. The advocate said that the counter filed by the ED said, “Raghav has revealed that Kavitha had introduced his father (Srinivasulu Reddy) to her team consisting of Buchi Babu, Abhishek Boinapally and Arun Pillai. All of them met at the official residence of Srinivasulu Reddy, according to Mohit Rao.

Earlier, the ED opposing the bail petition of Kavitha said that they had crucial confession statements with them by the approvers Magunta Raghava, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and Gopi Maran.

The ED said in March 2021, Magunta Srinivasulu met Kejriwal. It said, Srinivasulu Reddy revealed that Kejriwal told him that Kavitha was ready to invest about Rs 100 crore in the Delhi liquor policy and asked him to go and meet her. After meeting Kavitha, Srinivasulu Reddy met Buchibabu who got ready to invest Rs 50 crore. As part of the payment, Rs 30 crore, including Rs 25 crore in cash, was paid, the ED informed the court.

The ED argued that Kavitha was not a normal woman, and she was playing a key role in several companies. The investigating agencies said that Kavitha was the key conspirator in the liquor scam and a highly influential person and hence bail should not be given just because she is a woman. Kavitha used eleven phones and damaged four phones, the ED argued.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved the orders in bail petition filed by Kavitha for Thursday. Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma heard the arguments by the investigating agencies ED and CBI.