Chandrababu Naidu gets clean chit from ED in Andhra Pradesh skill development scam (file photo)
Digital Desk, New Delhi. ED has filed a fresh chargesheet in the Siemens Project case of Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC). It said some of the accused had "misappropriated" government funds, but Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was found to have no role in money laundering of the scam money.
Chandrababu Naidu's TDP is an ally of the Modi government-led NDA at the Centre. Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy of the previous YSRCP-led Andhra Pradesh government had arrested Chandrababu Naidu in this case in September 2023. He was accused of causing a loss of Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer due to irregularities in the scheme.
Spent more than 50 days in jail
Naidu spent more than 50 days in Rajamahendravaram Central Jail before the Andhra High Court granted him bail on October 31, 2023. A local court in Vijayawada recently accepted the closure report filed by the state CID in the case and closed the investigation against Naidu. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said in a statement that the ED case is based on the CID FIR.
What did the investigating agency say?
The investigating agency, in its supplementary chargesheet, has said that its investigation did not find any role of Naidu in "misappropriation", hence he was not named as an accused in the complaint. The court took cognizance of this new prosecution complaint on January 28. The skill development project involves setting up clusters of centers of excellence, the total project cost of which is estimated at Rs 3,300 crore.
The company accused in the new charge sheet is DesignTech Systems Pvt. Ltd. (DTSPL), its Managing Director Vikas Khanvelkar, Siemens Industry Software India Pvt. Ltd. The FIR has been filed against former managing director of Soumyadri Shekhar Bose alias Suman Bose and his "close associates" Mukul Chandra Agarwal, Suresh Goyal and some others. (With inputs from news agency PTI)
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