BRS leader K Kavitha forced pharma company chief to pay Rs 25 cr: CBI

Allegedly, Kavitha warned Reddy that failure to comply would result in harm to his business in Telangana and Delhi, a report in the media said.

Reddy, who is an accused in a money-laundering case related to an alleged liquor scam in Delhi, later became a witness for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation, it said.

The CBI has yet to formally charge him.

The court has sent Kavitha to the CBI's custody till April 15.

In March and May 2021, Pillai, Boinpally, and Butchibabu Gorantla were put up at the Hotel Oberoi in Delhi to influence the formulation of the excise policy in their favour with the help of Nair by incorporating specific provisions, the agency said, the report added.

Following the assurance of assistance from Kavitha, Aurobindo Realty and Infrastructure Private Limited purportedly made a payment of Rs 80 lakh to her NGO, Telangana Jagruthi, under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in March 2021, CBI alleged.

Kavitha purportedly "pressured" Sharath Chandra Reddy to enter into a sale agreement with her for an agricultural land situated at Mahboob Nagar, Telangana and pay Rs 14 crore for the land and "coerced" him into executing the sale agreement via Mahira Ventures Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Aurobindo Group, in July 2021, CBI told court citing Reddy’s statements and its investigation.

According to the CBI, the entire payment of Rs 14 crore was transferred to Kavitha through bank transactions: Rs 7 crore in July 2021 and another Rs 7 crore in mid-November 2021, the report said.

The agency further alleges that during November and December 2021, Rs Kavitha demanded Rs 25 crore from Reddy (Rs 5 crore per zone for the five allocated retail zones), it added.

The BRS leader allegedly asserted that she personally provided Rs 100 crore upfront on behalf of Reddy to the AAP through Nair to secure favourable provisions in the excise policy.