Charge sheet filed against Chandrababu Naidu in Amaravati Road case

The charge-sheet was submitted by CID officials to the III Additional Sessions Judge, who also serves as the Special Judge for SPE and ACB cases, at the court in Vijayawada.

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh CID on Thursday filed a charge sheet against TDP President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and others in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road and Master Plan case.

The CID officials filed the charge-sheet in the Court of III Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge for SPE and ACB cases in Vijayawada.

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Apart from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo, the CID named TDP leaders and former ministers P. Narayana and Nara Lokesh, and realtors Lingamaneni Rajashekar and Lingamaneni Ramesh as main accused in the case.

They have been charged with seeking financial gain from the project.

The charge sheet has been filed under sections 120(B), 409, 420, 34, 35, 36, 37 IPC and Sec 13 (2) r/w 13(1)(c) & (d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

According to the CID, the accused designed Amaravati Inner Ring Road and Master plan in a way to benefit Heritage Foods connected to Naidu’s family and educational institutions owned by the family of Narayana.

The accused falsely projected to the government and to the Council of Ministers that there was a government-to-government MoU between the Singapore and Andhra Pradesh governments regarding the Amaravati Master Plan.

But, there was no such G2G MoU, and they did not obtain required approval from the Centre for such MoU.

The investigating agency alleged that the accused had appointed foreign Master Planner M/s Surbana Jurong on nomination basis and paid them several crores of rupees as fee. The Master Plan was designed in such a manner as to have an Inner Ring Road and a Seed Development Area, Start-up Area to the advantage of the accused.

The Inner Ring Road was designed in a manner as to pass just adjacent to the land bank of the Lingamanenis, Heritage Foods and the educational institutions’ campuses belonging to the family members of Narayana.

According to the CID, Narayana financed and purchased about 58 acres of land in the names of his relatives and, in conspiracy with Naidu, the Seed Capital Area was designed just adjacent to these lands. They gave a commitment to spend Rs 5,500 crore from the public exchequer and to make it as the area to be developed first, before any other area in the capital city area.

As a quid pro quo for the windfall gains in the value appreciation of the land bank of about 340 acres, received by the Lingamanenis, they allegedly gifted a house for the use of Chandrababu Naidu and his family members, as a rent-free accommodation.

The ACB court had earlier issued ad-interim attachment orders on this house. The investigating agency alleged that Heritage Foods, a family company of Naidu, had purchased about 14 acres of land adjacent to the land bank of the Lingamanenis.

The Inner Ring Road was designed to pass by these lands, with the need for a very minimal acquisition of land. It caused rapid appreciation in the value of the lands.