CID said the house was given to Naidu as quid pro quo for changing the Amaravati master plan to benefit an industrialist.
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu. (File photo/Supplied)
A special court for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases on Friday, 30 June, granted clearance to the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) to attach the guest house in which TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu resided when he was chief minister of Andhra Pradesh till 2019.
The court gave the clearance in response to a petition filed by the CID seeking permission to attach the property that was owned by the industrialist Lingamaneni Ramesh.
The guest house on the Krishna riverfront in the Guntur district was given to Naidu by the industrialist as part of quid pro quo deal, the CID has contended.
Apart from attaching the guest house, the court has also granted permission to the CID to partially attach houses of former Minister P Narayana.
When he was the chief minister, Naidu made changes in the alignment of Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA)’s master plan to favour Lingamaneni, the CID has said. In return for the favour, Naidu got the guest house, it added.
Earlier, the YSRCP government had given clearance to attach the guest house on the Krishna riverfront in Undavalli in Tadepalli mandal of the Guntur district, the investigation officer (IO) of the CID intimated the court of the Special Judge for Special Police Establishment (SPE) and ACB cases.
The government issued a GO after the CID additional director general of police (ADGP) sought the attachment of the property under provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1944, so as to prevent its disposal or concealment of the ill-gotten wealth procured by committing offences under the Prevention of the Corruption Act, 1988.
The ADGP also wanted the government to authorise the IO to file the same before the Court of Special Judge for SPE and ACB cases.
The CID ADGP also said that the guest house that belonged to Lingamaneni Ramesh was kept at the disposal of Chandrababu Naidu on a free-of-cost basis as illegal gratification in lieu of the gains which accrued to the Lingamanenis from changes in the master plan of the capital city, especially the alignment of the Inner Ring Road (IRR).
The ADGP, in his letter to the government, stated that, based on a complaint by Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, a case was registered in 2022 under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Chandrababu Naidu (A1) and P Narayana (A2).
The charges against Chandrababu Naidu and Narayana are that they played a key role, in connivance with other accused, in fixing the boundaries of the capital city and the IRR’s alignment, taking advantage of their positions as chairman and vice-chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA).
The information they were privy to gave scope to the other accused to purchase lands at low prices at specific locations.
They also ensured close access to the educational institutions belonging to Narayana’s family and relatives.
The CID ADGP said that Chandrababu Naidu and Narayana, the then municipal administration minister, along with other accused, abused their official position while preparing the master plan for Amavarati and fixing the alignment of the IRR.
They also excluded the lands of Lingamaneni and his companies from the acquisition, which helped those lands appreciate in value.
This had led to a loss to the farmers as well as to the government exchequer, he added.
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