Andhra Pradesh CID files charges in AP Fibernet scam case, names Chandrababu Naidu as A1

The Crime Investigation Department of Andhra Pradesh Police on Friday submitted a chargesheet in the Rs 114-crore AP Fibernet scam to the Vijayawada ACB court, naming TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu as the main accused.

Apart from Naidu, the CID has also named Hyderabad-based Net India managing director V Hari Krishna Prasad and IRTS officer K Sambasiva Rao as other accused, the CID said in a statement.

Chief Minister Naidu was in charge of the energy, infrastructure and investment departments at the time. In a statement on the alleged tender-rigging case that took place during the erstwhile TDP government from 2014 to 2019, the CID said that he personally recommended the implementation of the optical fiber network project.

It said the bidding process was rigged to allocate work orders for the first phase of the AP fiber optic network project worth Rs 330 crore to a favored company.

According to the CID, there were several irregularities right from the allocation of tenders to the completion of the entire project, leading to huge financial losses.

According to the CID chargesheet, Naidu approved the estimates for the Fibernet project without taking into account the fact that no market survey was conducted on the price of the project or the standards to be followed.

Furthermore, the CID noted that the former chief minister allegedly pressured senior government officials to include Hari Krishna Prasad in various bid evaluation committees, withdraw the blacklist of Terasoftware Pvt Ltd and ultimately award the bid to the same company, among other irregularities.

Furthermore, the Criminal Investigation Directorate highlighted that the defendants allegedly transferred embezzled funds using fake invoices through a network of companies purportedly belonging to their associates.

The accused were booked under Sections 166, 167, 418, 465, 468, 471, 409 and 506 of IPC and Section 120 B and other sections.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)