Andhra Pradesh CID Claims N Chandrababu Naidu Was Non-Cooperative During Questioning

Telugu Desam Party supremo N Chandrababu Naidu who was arrested in the skill development corporation scam case by the Crime Investigation Department on Saturday has been non-cooperative during questioning and replied vaguely saying he did not remember certain issues, said the authorities.     

A day after his arrest, Naidu was produced in an Anti-Corruption Bureau court in Vijayawada on Sunday morning amid tight security.

According to PTI, the arrest report said, "He was asked questions based on the note files, which form part of the evidence in this case diary. But to all the questions he was non-cooperative and replied vaguely that he could not recollect the facts. In this regard, the report was drafted in the presence of the mediators and duly attested by him."

The CID report further said after reaching the office of the CID, Naidu was questioned about his role in the offences in the presence of mediators. He was given breaks as per his request to consult a legal counsel, to meet the members of his family and have food and refreshments.  

The detention report also said the officials had arranged for a chopper to bring him from Nandyal, where he was held, to Vijayawada when they sought his judicial custody, but that Opposition leader defied them. The TDP cadres reportedly blocked the convoy several times, indicating their intimidation of law enforcement officials because of his position.

It said the TDP chief is not a flight risk.

The CID alleged that Chandrababu Naidu and the Telugu Desam Party were the "end beneficiaries" of the misappropriated funds. 

The CID named G Subba Rao and K Lakshminarayana, former government employees, as A1 and A2 respectively in the case. According to the remand report submitted to the court, Naidu was named as Accused 37 (A37) in the case.

Naidu was arrested in a pre-dawn operation on Saturday at Nandyal for his alleged role in a multi-crore Skill Development Corporation scam, which involved officers knocking on the door of the caravan in which he was sleeping.

The former CM was arrested by the CID around 6 am on Saturday from a marriage hall (outside which his caravan was parked) at Gnanapuram in Nandyal. The CID chief N Sanjay had said Naidu was the "principal conspirator" in the case.

Pawan Kalyan taken to preventive custody

The Andhra Pradesh Police has taken Janasena party president Pawan Kalyan and its senior leader Nadendla Manohar into preventive custody in the NTR district, a police official on Sunday.

They are being shifted to Vijayawada, he said, adding that no case has been lodged against them.

Kalyan had condemned TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu's arrest in a pre-dawn operation at Nandyala on Saturday and attempted to head towards Vijayawada to support the former chief minister.

The police, however, managed to ensure that Kalyan's special flight to Vijayawada did not take off from Hyderabad, forcing the Janasena party chief to take the road route. His convoy was blocked in the NTR district twice on Saturday, forcing Kalyan to alight from his vehicle and walk towards Mangalagiri in Vijayawada. 

On being blocked from heading towards Vijayawada, Kalyan laid and on the road at Anumanchipalli, compelling the police to take him into preventive custody.

"We have taken Kalyan and Manohar into preventive custody. We are taking them to Vijayawada," Nandigama Sub-Divisional Police Officer Janardhan Naidu told PTI.

He said the duo would not be produced in front of a judge as it is only preventive custody.