In Delhi liquor policy case, approver’s firm paid Rs 30 crore to the BJP – after ED arrest

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday on charges of corruption and money laundering in the Delhi excise policy.

Hours before his arrest, electoral bond data released by the Election Commission showed a company linked to another person accused in the same case, P Sarath Chandra Reddy, had donated Rs 5 crore to the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2022, just five days after Reddy was taken in custody. Another Rs 25 crore was donated to the BJP after Reddy turned approver in the Delhi excise policy case.

Hyderabad-based businessman Sarath Reddy is one of the directors of Aurobindo Pharma Limited, founded by his father PV Ram Prasad Reddy. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the liquor scam case on November 10, 2022. His company Aurobindo Pharma bought electoral bonds worth Rs 5 crore on November 15. All of them were encashed by the BJP soon after, on November 21, 2022.

Sarath Reddy turned approver in the Delhi excise policy case in June 2023. In November 2023, Aurobindo Pharma gave another Rs 25 crore to the BJP.

In all, the company bought electoral bonds worth Rs 52 crore, of which Rs 34.5 crore went to the BJP. Before Sarath Reddy was...

Read more