Lagatar24 Desk
Vijayawada, Sep 11: The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Monday declared a state bandh following the arrest of N Chandrababu Naidu, the party’s chief, in a corruption case.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Vijayawada ordered Naidu to be held in judicial custody for 14 days, until September 23, in connection with an alleged Skill Development Corporation scam.
In the meantime, Naidu arrived at Rajahmundry Central Jail in the early morning of Monday after being remanded to judicial prison in a corruption case.
The former CM has been assigned an upper block in the Sneha Wing of the jail to live in until further proceedings, according to the police, where he will be joined by prisoner number 7691.
Nara Lokesh, the TDP leader’s son, and other party officials also reached the central jail.
To preserve law and order in the area, the East Godavari district police have enacted a prohibitory act in Rajahmundry.
Prior to the former CM’s detention, Rajahmundry Central Jail had already been heavily police-secured.
The Andhra Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detained Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday in connection with a purported corruption investigation.
The case pertains to the establishment of clusters of Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3300 crore, as per the officials.
Additionally, according to agency representatives, the alleged fraud cost the state government more than Rs 300 crores in losses.
According to the CID, the probe has uncovered severe anomalies, such as the fact that the previous state government gave an advance of Rs 371 crores—the whole 10% promise by the government—before any expenditure by private firms.
The majority of the funds given by the government were fraudulently transferred to shell businesses through invoices, with no actual delivery or sale of the goods listed on the invoices, according to CID officials.
The inquiry has shown that the whole sum spent by private organizations on six skill development clusters was entirely financed by money granted by the Government of AP and the AP Skill Development Centre, amounting to Rs 371 crores, according to the CID’s remand report.
