The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday dismissed three bail petitions filed by Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu, PTI reported.
The former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh had sought regular bail in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road scam and Angallu violence cases and an anticipatory bail petition in the FiberNet case. An anticipatory bail application allows an accused person to apply for bail before being arrested.
On September 9, the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department arrested Naidu over his alleged involvement in siphoning off approximately Rs 371 crore belonging to the Skill Development Corporation through fictitious companies when he was the state’s chief minister.
He has been booked under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and also charged under the sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with the offences of criminal conspiracy, public servant disobeying law, public servant framing an incorrect document, cheating, forgery, causing disappearance of evidence and offering bribe to a public servant.
The investigating agency has also named Naidu as an accused in three other cases for which he had sought bail.
According to the first information report in pertaining to the Amaravati Inner Ring Road case, Naidu has been accused of irregularities in the construction of an internal ring road in Amaravati city.
Naidu played a crucial role in appointing a master planner of Amaravati on nomination basis when he was the chief minister between 2014 and 2019, the FIR said. The road was designed in such a manner that it passed just adjacent to the properties of the accused, including Naidu’s, leading to values appreciating, the FIR added.
The Angallu violence case pertains to the riots that took place during a political rally taken out by Naidu in Annamayya district on August 4, PTI reported. Some ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party workers and a few police personnel were injured during the riots.
The third case against Naidu is that of FiberNet Project scam. The project sought to offer internet and telephone services to every household in the state through installation of optic fibers.
The Crime Investigation Department has alleged that there are irregularities and misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 321 crores in the project that was launched by Naidu when he was the chief minister. The agency has alleged that Naidu approved the estimates of the fiber net project even when no market survey was done for the items, The News Minute reported.
The tender process for the project was also manipulated to allot the work order for the first phase of Rs 330 crore to Tera Software company, the CID alleged.
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