CID conducts searches in former minister P Narayana’s house

VIJAYAWADA: A day after serving notice on former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to appear before it for questioning in the Amaravati land scam, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) officials on Wednesday served a similar notice on former Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) minister P Narayana and conducted searches at his residence in Nellore. Narayana is named as accused no 2 in the case.

Three separate teams of the investigating agency went to Narayana’s residences in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Nellore to serve the notices. As they could not find him at any of the three places, they handed over the notice to Narayana’s wife Ramadevi in Hyderabad.While Chandrababu Naidu was asked to appear before the investigating officer on March 23 for questioning at the CID regional office in Satyanarayanapuram of Vijayawada, Narayana has been directed to come in person on March 22.

The CID sleuths reportedly conducted searches at the residence of Narayana at Chintareddypalem on the outskirts of Nellore city on Wednesday afternoon. The CID sleuths accompanied by local police for bandobust locked the doors of the premises and did not allow anyone to enter inside and searched the premises for documents related to the Amaravati land scam, sources said.

In a related development, the CID also served a notice under Section 160 of the CrPC on Mangalagiri MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy, on whose complaint the case was registered, to present any evidence he has on the allegations he has made. The CID asked Ramakrishna Reddy to appear before the investigating officer on Thursday and submit proofs pertaining to the case.The CID registered the case based on a complaint lodged by Ramakrishna Reddy alleging alienation of assigned lands in violation of law.  

Cases were registered under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), 166 (public servant disobeying law), 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document), and 217 (public servant disobeying direction of law) of IPC, section 3 (1) (f), (g) of SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and also Section 7 of AP Assigned Land (Prevention of Transfer) Act 1977. In the complaint, Ramakrishna alleged that thousands of acres of assigned lands in Amaravati illages were alienated during the tenure of Naidu.