Special ACB court extends Chandrababu Naidu’s remand till Oct 5

VIJAYAWADA: A special court for Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) cases in Vijayawada on Sunday extended the judicial remand of TDP supremo and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu till October 5. Currently lodged at the Rajahmundry Central Prison, the 73-year-old was arrested for his alleged role in the AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) scam on September 9.

The ACB court on Friday granted two-day custody of Naidu to the State Crime Investigation Department (APCID) for an investigation into the case. After the APCID’s custody ended at 5 p.m., Naidu was produced before the ACB court via videoconference. The probe agency sought the court to extend the TDP leader’s remand as well as custody for further questioning.

While seeking a 15-day judicial remand of Naidu, the CID submitted to ACB judge BVS Hima Bindu that former IAS officer, Dr PV Ramesh, during his interaction with the media was seeking to distort the proceedings of investigation and the content of his statement made under Section 164 of CrPC.

“Such is the influence of the accused and his supporters over the witnesses in the case. The accused is very likely to cause damage to the case and the enquiry by tampering with the evidence, intimidating and influencing the witnesses. The accused is likely to interfere with the process of recording the statements of witnesses by inducement, threat or promise to any persons acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer, thus jeopardising the legal process,” the CID said. Responding, the TDP chief’s counsel objected to CID’s plea.

The judge directed the CID officials to file petitions seeking Naidu’s custody. She also asked the probe agency to leave the Rajamahendravam prison as their custody has ended.The APCID also informed the court that two primary witnesses, Pendyala Srinivas and Manoj Vasudev Pardasany, were out of bounds of the investigating agency and that they suspect Naidu’s role in their disappearance. The APCID explained that the two witnesses could shed light on the end use of the misappropriated monies.

While speaking to the former chief minister, the judge sought to know if the investigators treated him properly and whether the medical tests were conducted. Naidu responded in the affirmative.When Naidu sought to know what the CID had found out during the questioning, the judge maintained that it was not proper to reveal the details as the case was still under investigation. She said the probe agency had submitted primary evidence and asked Naidu to get them through his counsel.

The judge extended Naidu’s judicial remand will October 5 and informed him that his bail plea would be heard on Monday.Meanwhile, the CID sleuths reportedly grilled Naidu for six hours on Sunday. They questioned Naidu on how the money was routed through shell companies and also why `371 crore was released even as the finance ministry had objected to it.They also sought to find the link between Naidu and the other two accused in the case: Ghanta Subba Rao and Suman Bose.