AP Skill Development Corp scam case: Chandrababu Naidu's judicial remand extended till Oct 5

In Vijayawada, a local court on Sunday (September 24) extended the judicial remand of TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu in the Skill Development Corporation Scam case until October 5, following the conclusion of his previous judicial remand and police custody.

The order came after a team of Andhra Pradesh Police CID officials today concluded its two-day interrogation of Naidu in the Skill Development Corporation scam case at Rajamahendravaram Central Prison.

Special Public Prosecutor Y N Vivekananda, representing the CID, told PTI that the Vijayawada ACB Court has extended Naidu’s judicial remand till October 5, in the wake of the two-day police custody ending at 5 pm on Sunday.

He noted that the CID is likely to file a separate petition seeking Naidu’s custody on Monday.

Further, the former chief minister’s bail application and two more CID prisoner transit (PT) warrant petitions in the AP FiberNet and Amaravati Inner Ring Road cases are expected to come up for hearing on Monday.

Meanwhile, Naidu has already moved the Supreme Court in connection with the Skill Development Corporation Scam case.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau Court had on Friday granted the CID two days' custody of the 73-year-old TDP chief for interrogation in the case, which expired on Sunday.

In compliance with the court's orders, Naidu's questioning by CID officials was allowed from 9:30 AM to 5 PM on both days (September 23 and 24) with regular five-minute breaks given to him to consult his lawyer.

Coastal Andhra Range DIG of prisons M R Ravi Kiran said that Naidu was handed back to the jail authorities by CID officials after completing their interrogation.

Further, he said the former chief minister was also produced before the court virtually through the ‘Blue Jeans' app at 5 pm as mandated by the Vijayawada ACB Court.

‘Blue Jeans' is an app that is used to produce prisoners online before courts, said Kiran.

The two-day police custody and two-day extension of judicial remand granted by the court expired today, following which the court then extended Naidu's remand till October 5.

As part of the interrogation, the court allowed three deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) from the Economic Offences Wing of the CID, accompanied by six more junior police officers, one professional videographer and two official mediators to participate in the interrogation.

The court had also permitted the assistance of a team of lawyers for Naidu during the interrogation at reasonable intervals of five minutes after every one hour of questioning.

It allowed the questioning of Naidu on the premises of the jail itself, considering the paucity of time, as well as the health and age of the former chief minister, helping him avoid the nearly 200 km-long journey from Rajamahendravaram central prison to the CID office in Mangalagiri.

Naidu was arrested on September 9 for allegedly misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation, which resulted in a purported loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer.

(With agency inputs)