Skill Scam: AP CID Opposes Regular Bail to Naidu

Vijayawada: The state CID on Wednesday appealed to the AP High Court to not grant bail to TD chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu as it might disrupt the ongoing investigations against him, which were in a crucial stage.

The High Court was hearing the plea of Chandrbabu Naidu for grant of a regular bail in the AP skill development scam case here. The single judge bench of Justice Mallikarjuna Rao heard the petition.

Additional advocate general Ponnavolu Sudhakar representing the CID submitted to the court that then TD government under Naidu had released Rs 330 crore even before the Siemens could spend 90 per cent of the funds for setting up of the skill development centres. By doing so, an amount of Rs 214 crore was diverted to shell companies by Naidu and others, and a forensic audit also confirmed this, he said.

The AAG submitted



that though the financial embezzlement surfaced during the Telugu Desam term, and an inquiry by ACB was held, the then government did not allow the case to proceed as the top leaders in the government were involved in it.

He informed the court that though the AP CID was taking up the probe from 2018, it would be unfair to call the ongoing probe "politically motivated."

The AAG said Naidu was involved in the scam as several note files were a witness to this involvement. "On Naidu’s direction only, an amount of Rs 330 crore was released."

The AAG said Naidu’s counsels did not present their arguments so far and they did it only for the grant of interim bail. After hearing the arguments from the AAG, the judge adjourned the case for its next hearing to November 16.