TDP sources told South First said party would soon move a bail petition in the AP High Court as Naidu's health was not very sound.
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu being served notice of arrest at Nandyal. (X)
Amidst high drama, TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, 9 September, at Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh.
The arrest followed his listing as Accused No 1 in what has come to be known as a “skill development scam”.
He had camped in a caravan at Nandyal for the night after addressing a huge public meeting in the town where he came down heavily on Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government for its alleged corrupt deeds.
The police also arrested TDP leaders Kaluva Srinivasulu, Bhuma Brahmananda Reddy, AV Subba Reddy, BC Janardhan Reddy, and Akhila Priya.
Notice served to Chandrababu Naidu
A few days ago, Naidu predicted that the police might arrest him in a “day or two” which came true when the police detained him at the function hall in the town.
The police team headed by Anantapur DIG K Raghurami Reddy, before arresting him under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, served a notice on him under Section 50 (1) of the CRPC.
The police slapped charges against him under sections relating to criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, breach of trust, destruction of evidence, and abetment.
Some of these sections involve non-bailable offences. Naidu will have to seek bail in court.
After arresting him, the police took him away in police vehicles. It is not immediately clear as to where he was taken, though some reports said he was being shifted to Vijayawada.
A livid Chandrababu Naidu said he had done nothing wrong.
“I have not committed any crime. The police tried to unleash a wave of panic in the middle of the night by swooping down on me. When I asked them why they were arresting him, there was no reply. They are arresting me because I am fighting against the government on behalf of the people,” he said, hoping that finally it is truth that would triumph.
In comments posted on the TDP’s official X, formerly Twitter, handle, the former chief minister is heard asking the party cadres to maintain restraint. He said he had done no wrong and that the CID sleuths, by their mid-night action, had unleashed reign of terror.
He also said there was no prima facie evidence in the case alleged scam to implicate him.
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.
Posted at 6 AM, 09th September 2023 pic.twitter.com/721COYldUd
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) September 9, 2023
The TDP sources told South First said that they would move a bail petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court at the earliest as Naidu’s health was not very sound.
The sources said that in the medical examination done on Chandrababu Naidu after his arrest, it was found that he was suffering from high BP and high sugar levels.
The police, nonetheless, took him away despite protests by party workers.
Nara Lokesh, who is on his padayatra in Razole in East Godavari district, squatted on the road despite rain, protesting against the police preventing him from leaving for Nandyal to see his father.
In visuals posted on the X, a visibly agitated Nara Lokesh, currently in the West Godavari district, can be seen arguing heatedly with police officers who stopped him from proceeding to Nandyal.
Learning about the police swooping down on Chandrababu Naidu, TDP activists arrived in large numbers, trying to prevent the police from arresting him.
They entered into an argument with the police about what business they had at the place and why they were trying to arrest him.
They told the police to return after daybreak since Chandrababu Naidu was resting at the moment but the police did not listen to them. When they would not listen, the police arrested them too.
In protest against his arrest, the TDP gave a call for state-wide protests. Already in several districts, TDP workers are spilling onto the roads and are holding up vehicular traffic. The police have kept several leaders of the TDP under house arrest.
In Visakhapatnam, the TDP workers descended on Dwaraka Bus Station and disrupted the bus services. The long-distance and semi-urban services could not be operated by the RTC authorities as a result of the protest.
On Wednesday, Chandrababu Naidu, at a public meeting in Rayadurgam in Anantapur, had predicted that he would be arrested the same day or “sometime soon”.
“Today or tomorrow they could arrest me. They may even attack me,” Naidu had said, referring to the YSRCP government of Chief Minister Jagan.
YSRCP leaders on Thursday had said that Naidu probably made the statement as he realised his arrest was imminent.
Senior leader V Vijayasai Reddy said the TDP chief was trying to whip up public sympathy. Tourism Minister RK Roja, too, said that Naidu would go to jail, adding the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) should also question Naidu.
The skill development scam in Andhra Pradesh relates to the alleged misappropriation of funds by the erstwhile TDP government led by Chandrababu Naidu between 2014 and 2019.
It is alleged that Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) signed a deal with Siemens Industry Software India Ltd and Design Tech Systems Private Ltd to set up six centres to train the youth in various skills.
The CID, in its investigation, found that the TDP government had given a go-by to several rules in favouring the consortium and released ₹371 crore as advance even before the project commenced operations. The money was later allegedly siphoned off.
The CID charged him as the main player in the scam.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), too, launched an investigation into the alleged siphoning of government funds using shell companies in the scam.
The ED issued notices to the 26 accused and has also started questioning them, as money laundering is also at play in the alleged scam.
The 26 accused include former IAS officers K Lakshminarayana and Ghanta Subba Rao, who served as top executives of the APSSDC when the alleged scam took place, and also former top executive of US-headquartered Siemens, Soumyadri Shekhar Bose.
Lakshminarayana worked as the special secretary in the chief minister’s office during the N Chandrababu Naidu TDP regime, before 2004. After his retirement, he took his place as a director at APSSDC.
Subba Rao served as special secretary in the Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Department during Naidu’s rule, between 2014 and 2019, and was also the founder-managing director and chief executive officer of APSSDC.
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