A Telangana-based chartered accountant, who was formerly employed by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha, has been arrested in the Delhi liquor scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday, ANI reported.

The chartered accountant, Butchibabu Gorantla, was arrested on Tuesday evening as he was not co-operating with the investigation and gave evasive replies during questioning, the CBI said, according to The Indian Express.

Gorantla was allegedly involved in formulating and implementing the Delhi excise policy, under which new regulations for liquor sale in the city had been formulated, CBI spokesperson RC Joshi said.

The policy resulted in “wrongful gain to Hyderabad-based wholesale and retail licensees and their beneficial owners under the Delhi excise policy”, Joshi said, adding that Gorantla will be produced in a court on Wednesday.

On August 17, the CBI had booked Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and 14 other persons on charges of irregularities in the new liquor policy.

Under the new policy, which was implemented in Delhi on November 17, 2021, licences of 849 liquor shops were issued to private firms through open bidding. However, on July 30, the Delhi government withdrew the policy after Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended an inquiry into it by the central agency.

On September 1, Delhi reverted to its old liquor policy, under which only state-run stores are allowed to operate.

In December, the CBI had questioned Telangana MLC Kavitha for more than seven hours in connection with the scam, NDTV reported.

The questioning took place after the Enforcement Directorate named Kavitha in the scam, alleging that she was part of the “south group” which paid at least Rs 100 crore in kickbacks to leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party through businessman Vijay Nair, who has been arrested in the case.