Amaravati ‘land scam’: Chandrababu Naidu served notice by Andhra Police, asked to appear on March 23

The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) today served a notice on former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for insider trading in Amaravati. It has asked Naidu to appear in person at the CID regional office in Vijayawada on March 23. The alleged scam took place during Naidu’s tenure as chief minister. The police have also served a notice to former minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Dr P Narayana.

This comes four days after CID registered a case following a complaint filed by YSRCP MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy on February 24. Interestingly, the complaint itself was made just a month after the High Court had struck down a case pertaining to “insider trading” in Amaravati. In that case, Chandrababu Naidu and former minister P Narayana were made “known\suspected\unknown accused.”

According to The Indian Express, the CID alleges that several TDP ministers, leaders and party members had prior information that a particular region between Krishna and Guntur districts would be declared as the new capital of the state, and that they purchased vast tracts of land at low prices. Once the Amaravati region was declared as the capital, the report said, land prices increased thereby benefiting those who had purchased the land.

Based on this, the state police had registered over 20 cases against TDP leaders and real estate developers close to the then ruling party, accusing them of being involved in insider trading. However, the Andhra Pradesh High Court this January dismissed the insider trading cases, saying there was no evidence suggesting insider trading in the land buying.

As per PTI, the FIR states that some of the farmers of the MLA’s constituency made a representation that some influential persons of the then government have cheated them by taking away their lands illegally, fraudulently by keeping innocent peasants under confusion and fear of insecurity about their lands. “This set of middlemen who were the part of the conspiracy by making false representations that the government was going to take away their assigned lands without giving any compensation (sic),” the FIR says referring to the complaint by ruling party MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy.

The FIR also says that the complainant verified the GOs issued by the state government and found that several irregularities were committed by the respondents and caused irreparable loss to the SC and ST community and weaker sections and got wrongful gains and requested to take necessary legal actions, according to PTI.

The TDP has denied the charges, calling it the ‘most frivolous FIR’ filed by a ruling YSRCP MLA.