Delhi liquor scam: ED summons auditor Buchibabu for questioning on March 15

NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has issued a notice to Gorantla Buchibabu, one of the accused in the Delhi liquor scam case, for questioning on March 15, 2023. It asked the Hyderabad-based chartered accountant and auditor to appear before it in New Delhi on Wednesday.

The latest move of the ED comes in the wake of Arun Ramachandran Pilliai, another accused in the case and presently in custody following his arrest, moving a Delhi court to withdraw his statement given earlier to the investigating agencies. Against this backdrop, the ED reportedly intends to grill both Arun Ramachandran Pillai and Gorantla Buchibabu together.

The central agency on Monday produced Pillai at the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi and presented key arguments in this connection. The court heard the petition of Pillai seeking to withdraw his statement given earlier to the ED. The ED counsel, in his arguments before the court, contended, “Pillai chose to withdraw his statement at a very critical juncture. There is CCTV footage evidence with regard to his questioning. No pressure was exerted on Pillai during questioning nor was he intimidated and tortured,” the ED informed the court.

It further said: “Pillai gave his statement on September 18, 2022 before confirming the same details in the second and third statements. Why would he confirm the details in his subsequent statements if he was really tortured? He chose to change his statement only in March, 2023,” the agency claimed.

The ED also made a request to the court for three more days of custody of Buchibabu and Pillai so that it would grill both together again. Gorantla Buchibabu was arrested by the CBI on February 8, 2023 and was released on bail on March 6, 2023.