CBI nabs Hyderabad-based CA in Delhi excise policy case

A special court sent the arrested accountant, said to be a former auditor of BRS MLC K Kavitha, to CBI custody till February 11

The CBI has arrested a Hyderabad-based chartered accountant, who is said to be a former auditor of BRS MLC K Kavitha, in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, officials said on Wednesday.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had called the CA, Butchibabu Gorantla, to Delhi for questioning in connection with the case. He was questioned 15 times between August and October last year at the agency's offices in New Delhi and Hyderabad.

The CBI questioned Gorantla from February 1 to 4 this year too in connection with the allegations and he was confronted with the available evidence.

The officials said he concealed material facts related to the conspiracy behind the alleged offence, incriminating WhatsApp chats retrieved from his mobile phones, the role of the other accused, including public servants, as well as the trail of the ill-gotten money sent by the accused through hawala channels.

The CBI produced Gorantla before a special court here, which sent him to the federal agency's custody till February 11.

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The CBI will try to unearth the larger conspiracy hatched by the suspects regarding the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy, the money trail and the role of other accused, including public servants, the officials said.

The agency arrested Gorantla at around 8 pm on Tuesday as he was non-cooperative and was found to be evasive when confronted with evidence, the officials 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 gains" to Hyderabad-based wholesale and retail liquor licensees and their beneficial owners.

According to the agency, a scrutiny of the WhatsApp chats found from his mobile phones shows "certain incriminating facts about the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy".

"He remained in regular touch with FIR-named accused persons and other suspects during the relevant period," the CBI told the special court while seeking Gorantla's custody.

He also attended meetings with various accused in Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, where the "conspiracy was being hatched", the officials said.

The CBI filed its chargesheet on November 25, 2022 against seven people, including businessmen Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Arun R Pillai, Mootha Goutham and Sameer Mahendru.

"The further investigation in the case regarding the money trail and the larger conspiracy in the formulation and implementation of Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 is still in progress," an official said.

The CBI had questioned Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, in connection with the case in December last year.

During its probe, the CBI had found evidence that Babu, who was a former chartered accountant of Kavitha, acted on behalf of the "south lobby" comprising the Telangana MLC, YSRCP MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and Aurobindo Pharma's P Sarat Chandra Reddy.

Sources in the agency said Babu was acting along with Pillai and Boinpally during negotiations with Indospirit owner Mahendru and businessman Nair.

Nair, who was allegedly leading the negotiations to form a cartel in the Delhi liquor business, was told that Babu was closely associated with "big politicians from the south", including MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and Kavitha, the officials said.