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CID serves notice to Naidu in Amaravati land scam
Hyderabad The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh police on Tuesday issued a notice to former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu for questioning on March 23 in Vijayawada in connection with an alleged land scam in Amaravati, officials familiar with the matter said
Hyderabad The Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Andhra Pradesh police on Tuesday issued a notice to former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu for questioning on March 23 in Vijayawada in connection with an alleged land scam in Amaravati, officials familiar with the matter said. This comes 4 days after the CID registered an FIR against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He has also been booked under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Andhra Pradesh Assigned Lands (Prohibition of Transfers) Act.
A team of CID officials went to the residence of Naidu at Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad in the morning and handed a notice to him, under Section 41 (C) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
“Failure to attend comply with the terms of this notice, you are liable for arrest under section 41 A (3) and (4) of Cr PC,” the notice said.
The CID also issued a notice to another senior TDP leader P Narayana, who was municipal administration minister in Naidu’s cabinet. In the notice, CID deputy superintendent of police A Lakshminarayana Rao has asked Naidu to appear in person before him at 11 am on March 23 at the CID office in Vijayawada. He said it was necessary to examine Naidu to ascertain facts which are within his exclusive knowledge.
The CID official asked the former chief minister not to interfere with the process of investigation either directly or indirectly and not to contact or influence or intimidate or induce or threat the witness or any other persons acquainted with the facts of the case.
“You should also not tamper with the evidences in any manner whatsoever and appear before the court whenever your presence is required,” the DSP said in the notice.
The CID registered the FIR following a complaint lodged by YSR Congress party MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, who represents Mangalagiri assembly constituency which is part of Amaravati, on February 24.
According to the FIR, a copy of which was seen by HT, farmers of Reddy’s Mangalagiri constituency in Amaravati told him that influential people in the previous Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government cheated them by taking away their lands illegally. The farmers have alleged that some middlemen created insecurity stating the government might take away their assigned lands without giving any compensation, it added. The FIR said Reddy verified the orders issued by the then government and found several irregularities in acquiring assigned lands, thereby “causing irreparable loss” to the people belonging to Scheduled Castes (ST) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
The CID authorities led by deputy superintendent of police S Surya Bhaskar Rao conducted a preliminary inquiry before registering the FIR on March 12.
TDP leader K Atchannaidu dismissed the allegations as a political witch-hunt. He wondered how the CID could register the case against Naidu on the basis of a complaint by a ruling party lawmaker. “Ramakrishna Reddy is not an SC or ST. How can the CID file a case against Naidu under the SC/ST law?”
Atchannaidu said the lands were acquired for the capital under a pooling scheme after taking the farmers’ consent. He added there have been instances in the past when the government has acquired land for public purposes. “The [YS] Jagan [Mohan Reddy] government, too, acquired assigned lands for the house sites distribution scheme and also for solar power companies. Even during the [chief minister] Y S Rajasekhar Reddy regime, the [Andhra Pradesh] Assigned Lands ((Prohibition of Transfers) Act was amended for acquiring lands for public purposes.”
