AP Skill Development Scam Bites CBN, Gets Arrested!

Telugu Desam Chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu who often flaunts his four decades of experience in politics has been talking about his arrest of late. An old scam came back to bite him as he was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh CID officials earlier today. In the middle of his Nandyala trip, he was arrested.

Chandrababu Naidu was arrested for the first time in his career and the AP CID unearthing evidence against Chandrababu Naidu in the AP Skill Development Scam in the previous government is the reason. The allegations on the alleged irregularities in the scam are to the tune of over Rs 200 crores. Having dug the required evidence in the case, Chandrababu Naidu and a few others were arrested.

Not just Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the then Skill Development Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and his son Ravi Teja were also arrested in connection with the case. As a former Chief Minister was arrested, we can understand the intensity of the case and the seriousness of the allegations in the case.

What is the AP Skill Development Scam All About?

The opposition Telugu Desam Party was in power in the previous term. The then government started a program named Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation to provide skill training to the youth so that they can get employment opportunities. The scheme involves the government and a private entity named Siemens Industry with a partnership of 90 percent and 10 percent respectively.

From the government's end, the share of funds was released. However, there are serious allegations that say the money was not used for the scheme and was diverted to other ways and many shell companies came into existence for this.

There are allegations that the proposal did not even get the Cabinet approval but the funds were released. The fast pace at what things happened in the process gave birth to many doubts that something was fishy in this. It is also said that a few key documents went missing.

How the Scam Was Unearthed?

The alleged scam came to light when the AP CID started focusing on it. The department has been focusing on the scam and unearthing the details. A detailing investigation has been going on for a few years with the investigating officers unearthing key evidence at regular intervals. A few arrests were also made already.

By connecting all the dots in the case, the officers started digging into the details. There are allegations that there are a few changes to the GO and the memorandum of understanding (MOU). It is said that they gathered the evidence against the TDP chief and others and hence the arrests were made.