Andhra MP’s son arrested in Delhi liquor policy scam case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested the son of Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party’s (YSRCP) MP, Magunta Raghava Reddy, in connection with kickbacks in the Delhi liquor excise policy scam.

According to the ED sources, Raghava Reddy will be produced in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court today.

Earlier the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also questioned Raghava Reddy in connection with alleged bribe payments by the liquor cartel to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government functionaries in Delhi through a middleman.

It was alleged that the Magunta family was running one of the liquor cartels in Delhi and has been in the liquor business for the last several years.

The Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday sent Businessman Gautam Malhotra, son of former Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Deep Malhotra, and Telangana CM’s daughter K Kavitha’s auditor to ED, CBI remand respectively in the Delhi excise policy case.

Hyderabad-based chartered accountant (CA), Butchibabu Gorantla, also said to be the auditor of Bharat Rashtra Samiti MLC K Kavitha, was sent for three days CBI remand in the liquor scam.

According to the CBI, during the course of further investigation, Butchibabu Gorantla’s role has surfaced in the criminal conspiracy with other co-accused persons, in the formulation of liquor policy aimed to ensure them undue benefits.

During further investigation, the scrutiny of WhatsApp chats recovered from the seized mobile phones of Butchibabu Gorantla has revealed certain incriminating facts about the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy.

The ED and the CBI had, last year, alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority’s approval. The beneficiaries diverted “illegal” gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.