Ok Kavitha allegedly “threatened” Aurobindo Pharma promoter SC Reddy to pay Rs 25 crore to AAP.
New Delhi:
The CBI has informed a particular courtroom right here that BRS chief Ok Kavitha allegedly “threatened” Aurobindo Pharma promoter Sharath Chandra Reddy to pay an quantity of Rs 25 crore to the AAP for the 5 retail zones allotted to his agency beneath the Delhi authorities’s excise coverage.
In accordance with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Ms Kavitha had informed Mr Reddy that in case he doesn’t pay the quantity to the ruling Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP) within the nationwide capital, his enterprise can be harmed in Telangana and Delhi.
Mr Reddy, who was an accused in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged liquor rip-off in Delhi, had turned an approver within the case that’s being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The CBI is but to file a charge-sheet towards him.
Looking for the BRS chief’s custodial interrogation, the CBI informed Particular Decide Kaveri Baweja that it was on the “insistence and assurance” of Ms Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister Ok Chandrashekar Rao, that Mr Reddy obtained concerned within the liquor enterprise in Delhi.
Ms Kavitha had allegedly assured Mr Reddy that she had contacts within the Delhi authorities and that she would assist him within the liquor enterprise within the nationwide capital beneath the now-scrapped excise coverage.
“Kavitha additional informed Sharath Chandra Reddy that the funds of upfront cash of Rs 25 crore for wholesale enterprise and Rs 5 crore for every retail zone had been to be made to the Aam Aadmi Occasion for getting liquor enterprise and the identical was to be paid to her associates, Arun R Pillai and Abhishek Boinpally, who would in flip coordinate with Vijay Nair, who was a consultant of (Delhi Chief Minister) Arvind Kejriwal,” the CBI informed the courtroom on Friday.
The courtroom has despatched Ms Kavitha to the CBI’s custody until April 15.
In accordance with the company, in March and Could 2021, when the excise coverage was being formulated, Pillai, Boinpally and Butchibabu Gorantla stayed on the Resort Oberoi in Delhi to swing the coverage of their favour by way of Nair by inserting provisions.
After receiving the reassurance of assist from Ms Kavitha, Aurobindo Actuality and Infrastructure Non-public Restricted paid Rs 80 lakh to her NGO, Telangana Jagruthi, beneath Company Social Duty (CSR) in March 2021, the CBI has alleged.
“The investigation has additional revealed that in June-July 2021, Ok Kavitha had compelled Sharath Chandra Reddy to enter right into a sale settlement along with her for an agricultural land located at Mahboob Nagar, Telangana, though he was not eager to buy the stated agricultural land and likewise not conscious of the worth of the stated land,” it has stated.
Ms Kavitha “insisted” that Mr Reddy pay Rs 14 crore towards the land and “pressured” him to enter into the sale settlement by way of Mahira Ventures Non-public Restricted, one of many Aurobindo Group firms, in July 2021, the CBI has informed the courtroom, citing Mr Reddy’s assertion and its investigation thus far.
It stated the entire cost of Rs 14 crore was made to Ms Kavitha by way of financial institution transactions — Rs 7 crore in July 2021 and one other Rs 7 crore in mid-November 2021.
The company has alleged that in November and December of 2021, Ms Kavitha requested Mr Reddy to pay Rs 25 crore (Rs 5 crore per zone for the 5 retail zones allotted to him).
The BRS chief had claimed that she herself had paid Rs 100 crore as upfront cash on Mr Reddy’s behalf to the AAP by way of Nair for getting beneficial provisions within the excise coverage.
“Nonetheless, when Sarath Chandra Reddy confirmed his reluctance to pay the demanded cash, Ok Kavitha threatened Sarath Chandra Reddy to hurt his enterprise in Telangana and Delhi beneath the excise coverage,” the company has alleged, citing Reddy’s assertion.
The AAP alleged on March 24 that Mr Reddy’s firm had given Rs 59.5 crore to the Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP) by way of electoral bonds.
“The businesses owned by Sarath Reddy purchased electoral bonds and donated cash to the BJP. Now, this cash path has been uncovered in entrance of the nation. Mr Reddy bought electoral bonds value Rs 4.5 crore whereas the excise coverage was being formulated and after his arrest, he bought electoral bonds value Rs 55 crore and the cash went to the BJP. So the cash path that has been looked for the previous two years is right here,” Delhi minister Atishi had alleged.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)