Andhra Court Extends Former CM Chandrababu Naidu’s Remand till Oct 5 – News18

The Vijayawada ACB court on Sunday extended TDP chief and former CM Chandrababu Naidu’s remand till October 5th in connection with the alleged skill development scam.

Earlier, the court granted the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) two days of custody to investigate the issue which is now extended.

The decision came when the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed Naidu’s petition to quash the FIR. On September 19, advocates Harish Salve and Sidharth Luthra, representing the CID made the arguments in the Vijayawada Court.

In the two days of custody, the ACB Court Judge had put conditions and ordered the CID Officials not to release the photographs and videos related to the enquiry. The judge ordered to present him in the court through video conference after the custody came to an end on Sunday.

It was during the video conference when the Judge asked Chandrababu Naidu about problems he faced, if any, during remand. TDP chief lamented and said that he has been “mentally harassed” with the imprisonment and requested the authority to protect his rights and deliver justice.

Skill Development Corporation Scam

On September 9, Chandrababu Naidu was arrested for allegedly misappropriating funds, when he was CM of the Andhra Pradesh in 2015, from the Skill Development Corporation. It is estimated that the state had to bear a loss of more than Rs 300 crore.

In 2014, after coming to power, former CM Chandrababu Naidu decided to create an Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC). The corporation had the task to provide knowledge to unskilled and unemployed youth of the state. It was decided that small clusters will come up across the state for the benefits of the masses.

An MOU was also signed between the then AP government and Siemens India to tune of Rs 3,356 crore. As per the agreement, 10 percent of the aids will be given government while rest will be invested by Siemens India. When regime was changed in 2021, the then Andhra Chief Minister Y Jagan Mohan Reddy accused Naidu to be the main beneficiary of the APSSDC. He called the Corporation a scam.

It was in 2021, when AP CID registered case and started investigation. During the Enforcement Directorate enquiry, it was revealed that the then Naidu government had violated the AP Civil Works Code and the AP Financial Code by releasing Rs 371 crore (including taxes) even before the APSSDC project initiated and without calling for any tenders.

Hours after arrest, senior CID officer in a press conference called Naidu as the prime accused in the skill development scam.