Delhi Excise Policy case: Court grants remand of accused to ED, CBI
Feb 08, 2023
New Delhi [India], February 8 : 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.
The Enforcement Directorate sought 14 days of remand for Gautam Malhotra but was granted a remand of seven days by the court.
The other accused, a Hyderabad-based chartered accountant (CA), 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, his (Butchibabu Gorantla) role has surfaced in the criminal conspiracy with other co-accused persons, in the formulation of favourable liquor policy and deriving undue benefits out of the same.
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.
"He (Butchibabu) has remained in regular touch with FIR-named accused persons and other suspects during the relevant period. He has also attended various meetings with co-accused/suspects persons in Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai, where the criminal conspiracies have been hatched among them," CBI said.
Gautam Malhotra, the Director of liquor manufacturing and distribution firm the OASIS group, was arrested on Tuesday on money laundering charges. The ED sleuths arrested the businessman following his questioning in the case.
In October last year, the ED also raided the properties of Gautam and his father in Punjab. The younger son of Deep Malhotra, Gautam is said to manage the markets of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, apart from running the OASIS group's distilleries in Ambala and Indore.
As per sources, Gautam is an associate of Amit Arora, Director of Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd, who was arrested by the ED in November last year in the alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam.
