Days after arresting a Hyderabad-based businessman, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's politician daughter K Kavitha to appear before investigators on Thursday in connection with a probe into a money laundering case linked to Delhi excise policy.
The 44-year-old Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) said she would cooperate with the agency but would first seek legal opinion on her appearance on Thursday in view of the protest she has planned in the capital. She added, "tactics of intimidation" against her father and the BRS would not deter them.
The CBI, which had registered a case in August last year, had in December questioned her in the Delhi excise policy case.
The ED summons came as Kavitha announced that she would be protesting in Jantar Mantar in the capital on Friday to demand immediate passage of a law to reserve seats for women in Parliament and Assemblies.
On Sunday, Kavitha's father and eight other Opposition leaders had written a joint letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi against "misuse" of central agencies against political opponents.
Her summons also comes close on the heels of the ED questioning former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in Tihar Jail in the case and arresting Arun Ramachandran Pillai, who is allegedly a frontman of the 'South Group' involved in the case.
Officials said Kavitha will be confronted with Pillai and the ED would record her statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The CBI and ED claim that the South Group is a liquor cartel linked to Kavitha, Aurobindo Pharma promoter Sarath Reddy, YSR Congress MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and others.
The ED had registered a money laundering case on the basis of a CBI FIR, which alleged irregularities and corruption in the formulation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy that favoured cartelisation of the alcohol business in the capital.
The excise policy came under the CBI and ED scanners after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a probe following a report by the Chief Secretary.
The agency has also conducted raids at several premises, including Sisodia. It has questioned Sameer Mahendru, the owner of Indo Spirits, Amit Arora, the director of Buddy Retail Private Limited in Gurugram, and India Ahead News managing director Mootha Gautam among others in connection with the case.
The CBI FIR had claimed that Sisodia and other accused committed irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy brought in November last year that led to an alleged loss to the state exchequer.
The FIR alleged that payments in crores were allegedly made to "close associates" of Sisodia by Sameer Mahendru, one of the liquor traders who is also named in the FIR.