In a dramatic turn of events, Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Telugu Desam Party Chief, Chandrababu Naidu was arrested by the CID on Saturday morning, in connection with an alleged Rs 371 crore fraud case involving siphoning off funds from Skill Development Corporation. The case dates back to 2014.
Hours after his arrest in connection with the alleged multi-crore skill development scam, TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday said he was prepared to sacrifice his life to safeguard the interests of Telugu people, and no force can stop him. His arrest came days after a recent meeting in Rayadurgam, Anantapur district, where Naidu hinted that he could be attacked or arrested very soon.
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What is the AP Skill Development Corporation?
Just a few months after coming to power in 2014, Chandrababu Naidu decided to create an Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC), which was tasked with training unemployed youth in the state. Small clusters of this corporation were to come up in several parts of the state.
Students who register with the corporation can avail various courses/ programs being offered by APSSDC through various training centers, following successful completion of which, they will also be awarded with a certificate. As per an MoU signed between Naidu's government and Siemens India, the total cost of the project was Rs 3,356 crore, out of which the state government would pay only 10 per cent as a grant-in-aid while the rest 90 per cent would be invested by Siemens.
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What is the alleged scam?
In March 2021, Andhra Chief Minister Y Jagan Mohan Reddy accused Naidu of being the main beneficary of the scheme and that the skill development corporation was a 'scam'. AP CID registered an FIR in December 2021 and began an investigation. Enforcement Directorate’s investigation into the matter revealed that the government violated the AP Civil Works Code and the AP Financial Code by releasing Rs 371 crore (including taxes) even before the project started and without calling for any tenders.
What are the allegations against Naidu?
Hours after Naidu's arrest, in a press conference, a senior officer of the state CID referred to Naidu as the "prime accused" in connection with the alleged fraud. "This case revolves around the establishment of centres of excellence in Andhra Pradesh," N Sanjaya, Additional DGP of Andhra CID, said.
"The Andhra Pradesh government released ₹ 371 crore, a large part of which was siphoned and only a small part employed to establish the centres of excellence. Most of this money was diverted through shell companies by using fake invoices. The investigation revealed that Mr Naidu was the "principal conspirator" in the matter and the transfer of government funds to private entities through shell companies happened under his "active leadership", the officer said.
The former Andhra Pradesh chief minister has been arrested under relevant IPC sections, including Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 465 (forgery), according to the notice. The Andhra Pradesh CID has also invoked the Prevention of Corruption Act against him.
