Andhra Pradesh High Court grants TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu 4 weeks’ interim bail in Skill Development Scam Case

The Andhra Pradesh High Court Tuesday granted interim bail for four weeks to former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in the Skill Development Scam case.

The court granted bail to the TDP chief on health grounds. He is currently lodged in Rajamahendravarama prison.

Advocates representing Naidu had informed the High Court that he has to undergo cataract surgery.

The court posted the regular bail petition to November 10.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had arrested Naidu on September 9 in connection with the alleged Rs 3,300 Andhra Pradesh Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) scam.

His arrested had led to apolitical turmoil in the state. Several TDP leaders alleged that Naidu’s arrest was nothing but a political “witch-hunt” and that he was held on the basis of false allegations.

The Andhra Pradesh Police’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) had initiated a probe into the case in March this year. The investigation followed notices to former Indian Railway Traffic Service officer Arja Srikanth, who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of the APSSDC in 2016, based on the statements by an accused turned approver and depositions by three IAS officers.

The APSSDC was set up in 2016 to empower unemployed youth and provide skill training to enhance their employability.

According to the CID probe, the then government led by Chandrababu Naidu had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project worth Rs 3,300 crore. The MoU involved a consortium with Siemens Industry Software India Ltd and Design Tech Systems Pvt Ltd.

Siemens Industry Software India Ltd was to establish six centres of excellence for skill development. The Andhra government was supposed to contribute around 10 per cent of the total project cost. The two companies would provide the remaining funds as grant-in-aid.

The project was initiated without adhering to standrd tendering process, the CID investigation found. The then state Cabinet allegedly did not approve the project.

With inputs from agencies