CID interrogation of arrested Ex-AP CM Chandrababu Naidu underway

The Andhra Pradesh CID began interrogation of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu who was on Saturday arrested and named the 'principal conspirator' in the Skill Development Corporation scam, causing an alleged loss of Rs 300 crore to the state government. After Naidu was taken by road to Vijayawada from Nandyal where he was arrested, the questioning was underway at the CID office here late on Saturday, sources said.

Naidu was arrested in connection with the alleged fraud after a pre-dawn police operation which involved officers knocking on the door of the caravan in which he was sleeping.

The former CM was officially arrested by the CID police around 6 AM from a marriage hall (outside which his caravan was parked) at Gnanapuram in Nandyal.

The arrest came when AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was abroad on a private visit.

Addressing reporters after Naidu's arrest, AP CID chief N Sanjay said the investigation implicated the former Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP supremo as beneficiaries of misappropriation of funds.

''… this case revolves around the establishment of clusters of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3,300 crore.

The alleged fraud has caused huge loss to the Government of Andhra Pradesh in excess of Rs 300 crore,'' noted Sanjay, addressing a press conference at the CID office in Mangalagiri.

Reacting to his arrest, Naidu in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said, ''For the past 45 years, I have selflessly served Telugu people. I am prepared to sacrifice my life to safeguard the interests of Telugu people. No force on earth can stop me from serving Telugu people, my #AndhraPradesh and my motherland.'' ''Finally, truth and dharma will triumph. Whatever they do to me, I will march forward for the people,'' he said.

At a recent meeting in Rayadurgam, Anantapur district, Naidu hinted that he could be attacked or arrested very soon.

Telugu Desam Party has decided to observe mass hunger strike across the state on Sunday in protest against the ''illegal'' arrest of the party supremo.

Opposition parties in the state, BJP, CPI and Janasena (BJP’s local ally) unequivocally condemned the arrest accusing the YSRC government in the state of not following due procedure.

The Skill Development Corporation Scam is a clear case of abuse of power, money laundering, and cheating, YSR Congress parliamentary party leader and MP V Vijaysai Reddy said on X.

Protests erupted at several places in the state with TDP cadre raising slogans condemning the arrest.

Elaborating further, the CID official said, ''Nara Chandrababu Naidu is considered the principal conspirator behind the scheme, orchestrating the transfer of public funds to private entities via shell companies, resulting in a loss to the public exchequer and private gains.'' Naidu possesses the exclusive knowledge of transactions leading to the issuing of government orders and MoUs from time to time which makes him the “central figure” of the investigation, he said, adding that Naidu’s custodial interrogation is required.

The skill development case pertains to the setting up of clusters of centres of excellence (CoE) in the southern state with the total estimate of the project valued at Rs 3,300 crore but allegedly ended up causing a loss in excess of Rs 300 crore to the state government.

Before the private entities involved in this project could spend any money, the state government released an advance of Rs 371 crore, which is 10 per cent of the government’s commitment.

According to investigations that followed over the last two years after the TDP regime had ended in 2019, the money released by the then state government was diverted to shell companies through fake invoices. No delivery or sale of the items or services mentioned in the invoices took place. Some of the shell companies were also located in Singapore.

Further, the CID chief said that departing from the official procedure, a portion of the funds was used to create CoE clusters while the remaining amount was routed to shell companies.

According to Sanjay, the statement of public officials recorded under section 164 CrPC (confessional statements recorded before a magistrate) clearly points to the involvement of the former AP CM as the principal decision maker to release the money in advance.

He insisted that further investigation of individuals like Vikas Khanvelkar, managing director of Design Tech Systems is required.

Moreover, the CID chief said that several key documents of this case have gone missing and Naidu and other individuals are suspected to be behind it.

The charges in the case carry up to 10 years imprisonment while custodial interrogation is deemed necessary to uncover all the aspects of the financial fraud.

The official noted that the Enforcement Directorate and GST authorities have already investigated this case.

''The entire offence has occurred with the knowledge of the prime mover, conspirator and final beneficiary of defalcation money. He is the former chief Minister of AP,'' he said.

Naidu’s influence over the witnesses and other accused has come on record, making his arrest compulsory because of his position and it is clearly visible that he is trying to thwart further investigation and possible tampering of evidence, Sanjay added. Two accused, including a former private secretary to Naidu in the previous government, have ''fled'' to Dubai and USA respectively. Special teams will be dispatched to apprehend them.

He also said the role of TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh and his friend Kilaru Rajesh will be seriously probed in the alleged cases of irregularities in AP Fibrenet, Skill Development scam and Amaravati inner ring road.

After a nine-hour drive from Nandyal, Naidu was brought to a CID office here by road under tight security.

During his transit, TDP supporters thronged the roadways at several places to raise slogans and also tried to block the passage of the convoy. However, they were cleared by the police.

''We offered him (Naidu) a chopper (to bring him to Vijayawada) but he refused and wanted to travel by road,'' AP CID chief Sanjay told reporters earlier during the day.

He said the department took care of everything keeping Naidu’s age and his official position. Naidu is under Z-Plus category protection.