Chandrababu Naidu gets 4-weeks interim bail after 53 days in jail on health grounds
The AP high court has granted bail for a period of four weeks to the former Chief Minister on health grounds
TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has been granted interim bail for four weeks on Tuesday (October 31) by the Andhra Pradesh high court in the AP Skill Development Corporation case
The court granted bail to the former Chief Minister on health grounds. Advocates representing Naidu had informed the court that he has to undergo cataract surgery.
Chandrababu Naidu has been in jail for 53 days. The court posted the regular bail petition to November 10.
The AP court also said that Naidu should surrender before the Superintendent of the central prison in Rajamahendravaram on or before November 28.
TDP sources told the media that it may take two or three days before Naidu is released from jail. He is likely to return to his home in Hyderabad for a brief rest before addressing public
Naidu was lodged in Rajamahendravarama prison for allegedly misappropriating funds from the Skill Development Corporation, which resulted in a purported loss of over ₹300 crore to the state exchequer.
Skill Development Corporation case
Naidu was arrested on September 9 in connection with the alleged ₹3,300 crore Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) scam, which reportedly took place when he was the Andhra Pradesh chief minister.
On that day, the police arrived at Naidu's home at around 3 am. They could not arrest him, as his party workers gathered in large numbers and protested the move. However, he was taken into custody after nearly three hours.
The case timeline
The APSSDC was set up in 2016 to empower unemployed youth and provide skill training to enhance their employability.
In March this year, a probe was initiated into the Skill Development Corporation scam by the Andhra Pradesh police's Crime Investigation Department (CID). The investigation was initiated after notices were served to former Indian Railway Traffic Service officer Arja Srikanth, who had been the chief executive officer (CEO) of the APSSDC in 2016. This was instigated by statements made by an accused turned approver and depositions by three IAS officers.
According to the CID probe, the then Chandrababu Naidu government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project worth ₹3,300 crore. The MoU involved a consortium with Siemens Industry Software India Ltd and Design Tech Systems Pvt Ltd.
Under this MoU, Siemens Industry Software India Ltd was to establish six centres of excellence for skill development. The Andhra government was supposed to contribute around ten per cent of the total project cost, while the two companies would provide the remaining funds as grant-in-aid.
However, after the CID investigation, they found that the project was initiated without following the standard tendering process. The state cabinet allegedly did not approve the project.
The CID said that Siemens Industry Software India allegedly did not invest any of its own resources in the project. Instead, a substantial portion of the ₹371 crore allocated by the state was transferred to different shell companies. The CID alleged the funds meant for the project were funnelled into shell companies.
Meanwhile, Siemens Global Corporate Office's internal inquiry about the project revealed that the project manager had misappropriated the government-allocated funds to shell companies as hawala transactions.
More trouble for Naidu
On Monday, the Andhra Pradesh CID had filed yet another case against Naidu, alleging he and his government gave permissions illegally to liquor companies.
Naidu has been named as accused number 3 in the FIR filed under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Naidu had also decided not to contest the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections to be held next month, which led to the resignation of the state TDP chief Kasani Gyaneswar Mudiraj in protest.
In AP, all TDP activities have come to a standstill as Naidu and senior party leaders are trying to counter the legal troubles.