CID serves notice to Chandrababu Naidu in Amaravati land scam

Hyderabad: Days after facing a humiliating defeat in the Andhra Pradesh municipal elections, Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday got served notices by the state’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) in the sensational Amaravati land scam.

The officials, led by CID additional director general Sunil Kumar went to the residence of Naidu in Hyderabad on Tuesday morning and served him a notice under Section 41 (C) of the criminal procedure code (CrPC).

The CID authorities asked Naidu to appear before the CID officer whenever he is called to depose in the case.

The CID has already registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 120 B (conspiracy) and Sections 166, 167 and 217 of the IPC, read with Prohibition of Assigned Lands Alienation Act of 1977 and the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.

The CID has been probing into the alleged irregularities in the land pooling for Amaravati, the capital city for Andhra Pradesh proposed by Naidu. The TDP chief has been charged with involvement in various procedural irregularities with regard to decisions taken in relation to the capital city project.

The CID fixed Naidu in connection with the alienation of “assigned lands” for the capital, which is against the rules. Investigations revealed that Naidu’s close aides had purchased approximately 500 acres of assigned land after the announcement of the capital city.