The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Hyderabad-based chartered accountant (CA), understood to be the auditor of Bhartiya Rashtra Samiti (BRS) MLC K Kavitha, in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, officials said on Wednesday, February 8. The CBI had called the CA, Butchibabu Gorantla, to Delhi for questioning in connection with the excise policy case. He was arrested on Tuesday evening as he was non-cooperative and his responses were found to be evasive, they said.
The CBI has alleged that Gorantla's role in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 caused "wrongful gain" to Hyderabad-based wholesale and retail licensees and their beneficial owners. The agency will produce him before a special court on Wednesday.
In December 2022, CBI officials came to the residence of Kavitha to question her in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam. The CBI issued a notice to her under Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and asked her to intimate the place of residence as per her convenience for the examination.
In November 2022, the CBI filed its first chargesheet in the case against seven people. In a remand report filed against one of the accused persons, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said that Vijay Nair, on behalf of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders had received kickbacks amounting to at least Rs 100 crore from a group called South Group. The report further stated that the South Group was controlled by Sarath Reddy and K Kavitha.