A Vijayawada Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court on Sunday sent TDP Chief and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to 14-day judicial custody till September 23 in connection with alleged Rs 371 crore ‘scam’ in the AP Skill Development Corporation during 2014-2019, reports ANI.
A day after an early morning arrest, he was brought to the court of the Third Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases by the CID in Vijayawada on early Sunday morning amid heavy security. The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister is being represented by Supreme Court lawyer Siddarth Luthra and a team of advocates, reports The Indian Express.
Prior to this, he was questioned for nearly 10 hours at the Special Investigation Team (SIT) office.
The CID arrested the former CM after a pre-dawn police operation at Gnanapuram in Nandyala on Saturday. He was arrested at around 6 am from a marriage hall outside which his caravan was parked.
The probe agency alleged that the TDP chief is the ‘chief architect and principal conspirator’ in the ‘scam’, alleging that it involved Rs 371 crore of government funds that were transferred to shell companies during the TDP’s rule in the state. It further alleged that Naidu indulged in a criminal conspiracy with the intention of fraudulent misappropriation or otherwise conversion for own use, disposal of property which was under the control of a public servant, besides engaging in cheating, forging documents, and destroying evidence.
Meanwhile, the TDP gave a call to its supporters to take part in a one-day fast in every Assembly constituency on Sunday to protest their leader’s arrest.