Skill Development Scam: Court Extends Naidu Judicial Custody Till Oct 5

A Vijayawada Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court extended the judicial custody of Telugu Desam Party chief and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, until October 5 in the alleged Skill Development scam case.

It is to be noted that Naidu appeared before the court virtually from Rajahmundry Central Jail.

On September 10, the court first remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody after the Andhra Pradesh CID apprehended him in the early morning of September 9 in the multi-crore ‘scam’ case.

The case revolves around the alleged misappropriation in the establishment of clusters of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3,300 crore.

Officials from the agency claim that the purported fraud had inflicted a significant loss exceeding Rs 300 crore upon the Andhra Pradesh State government.

On 23^rd September, Naidu approached the Supreme Court, seeking the quashing of the FIR against him in connection with the case, following the rejection of his plea by the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

According to the CID, Naidu is identified as the principal conspirator and “accused no 1” in the alleged Rs 371 crore skill development scam.

In the remand report, the CID has stated that, based on the investigation thus far, the total amount expended by private entities on six skill development clusters originates exclusively from funds provided by the Government of AP and AP Skill Development Centre, amounting to Rs 371 crores.