N Chandrababu Naidu, the leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), arrived at Rajamundry Central Jail in the early hours of Monday after being remanded to judicial custody in connection with a corruption case. The former CM has been assigned an upper block in the Sneha Wing of the jail to live in until further proceedings, according to the police, where they will be joined by prisoner number 7691. Nara Lokesh, the TDP leader’s son, and other party officials also made it to the central jail. To preserve law and order in the community, Rajamundry has been subject to a prohibitory act imposed by the East Godavari district police.
Prior to the former CM’s remand, Rajamundry Central jail had already been heavily police-secured. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has declared a state of bandh due to the party chief’s arrest on Monday. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Vijayawada ordered Naidu held in judicial custody until September 23 in relation to an alleged Skill Development Corporation scam. The Andhra Pradesh Criminal Investigation Department (CID) detained Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday in connection with a purported corruption case.
According to the officials, the case relates to the establishment of Centers of Excellence (CoE) clusters in the state of Andhra Pradesh, with a total estimated project value of Rs 3300 crore. Additionally, according to agency representatives, the alleged fraud cost the state government more than Rs 300 crores in losses. According to the CID, the investigation has uncovered serious irregularities, such as the fact that the previous state government gave an advance of Rs 371 crores—the full 10% commitment by the government—before any expenditure by private entities.