Andhra Pradesh High Court Rejects Chandrababu Naidu’s Plea To Quash Arrest
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday dismissed N Chandrababu Naidu’s petition to quash his arrest and remand in connection with an alleged ₹ 371 crore scam.
The court also sent Mr Naidu to the custody of the state police’s Crime Investigation Department for two days. The Telugu Desam Party chief was arrested earlier this month and sent to judicial custody for a 14-day period.
The CID has named him as the “principal conspirator” and “accused number 1” in a multi-crore scam involving the state’s skill development corporation. He was earlier listed as “accused number 37”.
The police case against the TDP boss has roiled Andhra Pradesh politics – there have been clashes as party workers protest his arrest – have with just months to go for national and Assembly elections.
There have also been protests within the Andhra Pradesh Assembly. On Thursday several lawmakers from Mr Naidu’s party were suspended for 24 hours for disrupting proceedings by sloganeering to demand their leader’s release.
In addition, three others – two from the TDP and one from the ruling YSR Congress Party – were barred for the session. Hindpur MLA Nandamuri Balakrishna was warned for “twirling his moustache” and “slapping (his) thigh”. Mr Balakrishna is an actor and Mr Naidu’s brother-in-law.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday emphasised his government’s belief that Mr Naidu is guilty of “orchestrating and promoting” the alleged ₹ 371 crore scam.
What is Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Scam?
The case pertains to setting up of clusters of centres of excellence (CoE) in the state with the total estimate of the project valued at ₹ 3,300 crore, but this allegedly ended up causing a loss of over ₹ 300 crore to the state. The CID believes that before expenditure by private entities, the then government provided an advance of ₹ 371 crores – its full 10 per cent commitment.
Investigations have led to the conclusion, prime facie, that Mr Naidu, then the head of the government and its highest executive, orchestrated the entire scheme, the CID said.