Former Andhra Pradesh CM and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu was remanded in 14day judicial custody by a special anti-corruption bureau court on Sunday night, following his arrest the day before in connection with a skill development scam case.
Naidu was sent to Rajahmundry Central Prison and the court directed that he should be allowed homecooked food and medication. Also, the court directed provision of special room facilities and special security in view of a possible threat to his life. The arrest unfolded amid high drama, with Naidu being taken into custody in a pre-dawn swoop at Nandyal. CID subsequently produced him before a magistrate early Sunday. The remand order followed an eight hour legal argument in court.
Following the judgment, Naidu’s legal team filed two applications. The first sought house arrest as an alternative to judicial remand, while the second requested permission for him to receive homecooked food and medicine. Naidu’s legal team is expected to approach the AP high court with a lunch motion petition seeking bail. The ACB court proceedings primarily revolved around three legal issues: procedure adopted by CID to arrest Naidu, applicability of Section 409 of IPC (dishonest misappropriation) and Section 17(a) (prior approval of governor) in Prevention of Corruption Act.
Naidu was arrested for an alleged scam of £37.1 million in the AP Skill Development Corporation. The scam is said to have taken place between 2014 and 2019, when Naidu was Andhra Pradesh CM.
TDP MLAs under house arrest
The state has placed all 19 TDP MLAs in Andhra Pradesh under house arrest since Saturday. Police arrived at the houses of all MLAs and other senior TDP leaders in the early hours of Saturday, soon after the arrest of Naidu in Nandyal.
Even when Naidu was brought from Nandyal and produced in court on Sunday, his MLAs and other leaders were not allowed to leave their houses. The situation continued on Monday as TDP had called a statewide bandh in protest against Naidu’s arrest and his subsequent 14-day judicial remand.
The preventive measures and detention of key leaders helped as the bandh on Monday was largely ineffective in most parts of the state. With their leaders confined to their respective homes, the TDP cadres did not come out on the streets to enforce the bandh. The MLAs and other leaders are not being allowed to meet party workers or even relatives.