‘Authorities Not Showing Evidence Of Wrongdoing’: Chandrababu Naidu After Being Arrested In Corruption Case

Naidu said that his arrest was "undemocratic and unconstitutional" and maintained that “the authorities are not showing evidence of prima facie wrongdoing or involvement in the case"

Amaravati: Former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu was arrested in connection with an alleged Rs 371 crore Skill Development scam in an early morning police operation here on Saturday which involved officers knocking on the door of the caravan in which he was sleeping. The former CM was arrested by the CID around 6 am from a marriage hall (outside which his caravan was parked) at Gnanapuram in Nandyala town.

While being arrested by the state CID under the Prevention of Corruption Act in in Nandyal district, said that his arrest was “undemocratic and unconstitutional” and maintained that “the authorities are not showing evidence of prima facie wrongdoing or involvement in the case”. “I am being targeted as I am raising people’s issues,” Naidu claimed.

The TDP supremo had maintained that he will never compromise and stated that his journey would continue until justice is achieved. He had proclaimed that those who commit injustice will be buried in the sands of time.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened across Andhra Pradesh as party workers have gathered in large numbers across the state to protest Naidu’s arrest. The arrest was made under section 120(B), 166, 167, 418, 420, 465, 468, 471, 409, 201, 109 r/w 34 & 37 IPC and Sec 12, 13 (2) r/w 13 (1) (c) and (d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1998 of CID.

According to the notice, Naidu cannot be released on bail as “it is a non-bailable offence”.

What is Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corruption Case?

The APSSDC was established in 2016 during the TDP government in Andhra Pradesh. The program focused on the empowerment of unemployed youth by providing skill training.

The AP CID started an investigation into an alleged scam worth ₹3,300 crore in March which revealed that the project was initiated without following a proper tendering process, according to a report published by Hindustan Times. 

Apart from this, the investigation also uncovered several other irregularities in the program which include no project approval from the Andhra Pradesh cabinet, failure to invest resources of Siemens Industry Software India (a part of the consortium involved in the MoU signed by the TDP government), and funneling of funds allocated for the project into shell companies, as per HT reports.