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New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) A court here on Monday allowed two-week interim bail to Hyderabad businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai, arrested in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise scam, due to his wife’s illness.
Special Judge M K Nagpal granted the relief to Pillai after his lawyer filed an application claiming Pillai’s wife has to undergo a surgical procedure.
Advocate Nitesh Rana, appearing for Pillai, had urged the court for interim bail, saying he needed to be physically present with his wife for “moral support” when she undergoes the procedure.
The ED had claimed that Pillai is a close aide of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, and the frontman of the “South Group” liquor cartel.
It has alleged that the “South Group” paid kickbacks of around Rs 100 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to gain a larger share of the liquor market in the national capital under the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
Pillai was arrested by the ED on March 6 amid allegations that he represented the “South Group” at meetings with other accused when the excise policy was being formulated and implemented.
The excise policy was scrapped last year after the Delhi lieutenant governor ordered a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption involving its formulation and execution. PTI UK UK SK SK
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