Andhra Pradesh: Five held in Amaravati land scam case

Five people were arrested by CID police on Tuesday in connection with the Amaravati assigned land scam in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Vijayawada: Five people were arrested by CID police on Tuesday in connection with the Amaravati assigned land scam in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Kolli Sivaram, Gattem Venkatesh, Chikkala Vijayasaradhi, Bade Anjaneyulu, and Kotti Dorababu were taken into custody for irregularities over the purchase of 1,100 acres of assigned land in Amaravati capital region. The arrested were said to be involved in purchase of 169.27 acres of land.

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TDP leader and ex-minister P Narayana is said to be the main accused, and it is alleged that he had made illegal transactions in the name of his relatives and acquaintances. Kolli Sivaram is said to be a close aide of P Narayana and TDP MLC Nara Lokesh.

It is alleged that Narayana illegally purchased 89.8 acres of land in Ananthavaram, Krishnayapalem, Kuragallu, Lingayapalem, Mandadam, Nekkallu, Thulluru, Rayapudi, Uddandarayapalem, and Venkatapalem with different survey numbers. The CID confirmed that transactions of up to Rs 15 crore were done through the accounts of the Director of Ramakrishna Housing. It was also revealed that another 79.45 acres of assigned land were purchased illegally by the accused through Benami accounts.

The AP CID last year had registered cases under Section 120 B (conspiracy) and Sections 166, 167 and 217 of the IPC, read with the Prohibition of Assigned Lands Alienation Act of 1977 and the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, under which it issued notices to Narayana along with N Chandrababu Naidu in the Amaravati Assigned Lands scam.