New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a fresh prosecution complaint in the Delhi excise policy case naming Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K. Kavitha, and individuals who were allegedly involved in using the “proceeds of crime” in the 2022 Goa elections for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
This is the seventh complaint in this case and apart from Kavitha, the agency has named Charanpreet Singh, Damodar Sharma, Prince Kumar, and Arvind Singh as the latest accused.
Kavitha was arrested from her Hyderabad home on 15 March for allegedly being “one of the kingpins, a key conspirator and beneficiary” of the now-scrapped excise policy of 2021-2022. Charanpreet Singh was alleged to be the man running the AAP’s expenses in the Goa election.
The agency has also said Kavitha was the main brain behind the “South Group” that included TDP Lok Sabha MP candidate from Ongole, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, his son Raghav Reddy, and Aurobindo Pharma MD P. Sharath Reddy, who reportedly paid the AAP kickbacks in lieu of favourable policy changes.
In the remand application after Kejriwal’s arrest in March, the ED alleged that all accused had a role in the transfer of proceeds to Goa for the party’s use in polls.
Prince Kumar and Damodar Sharma were employees of Chariot Production, the advertising company of AAP’s former campaign chief Vijay Nair. The ED has claimed that Charanpreet Singh was a freelancer working for Nair’s company who was managing AAP’s expenses in Goa.
The ED has alleged that Goa-based hawala operator Sagar Patel confessed to have paid Prince Rs 16.08 lakh while Singh got Rs 17.38 lakh from him between 2021 and 2022. On the other hand, Sharma allegedly handed over Rs 12 crore to hawala operator Ashok Chandu Bhai of Asheel Corporation.
Arvind Singh was production controller and commercial head in M/s India Ahead News owned by another accused Abhishek Boinpally, and allegedly paid Rs 7 crore to other hawala operators.
ThePrint has learnt that there could be another chargesheet next week in this case.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal got interim bail from the Supreme Court Friday to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The bail is till 1 June.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Granting interim bail to Kejriwal, SC says ‘ED could’ve arrested him before or after elections’