VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (APCID) on Tuesday mentioned TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh as accused number 14 (A14) in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road (IRR) case.
It may be noted that TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, who is currently lodged at the Rajahmundry Central Prison for his alleged role in the AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) scam, was named A1 in the IRR case.
The APCID had filed a case under various Sections of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act in April 2022, accusing Naidu, the then municipal administration minister P Narayana and others of changing the alignment of the IRR for the benefit of some TDP leaders.
The probe agency on Tuesday filed a memo informing the ACB court that Lokesh has been added as A14 in the case. The court is scheduled to hear CID’s petition seeking a Prisoner Transit (PT) warrant against Naidu in the Amaravati IRR case.
According to the investigation agency, Lokesh was one of the major individual shareholders of Heritage Foods Limited and acted as a key management personnel till 2017. The TDP general secretary was the full-time director of the company between 2008 and 2013 and the non-executive director from 2013 to March 31, 2017.
The CID alleged that Heritage Foods had purchased around 10.4 acres at Kantheru village in Guntur district between June and September, 2014, and another 4.55 acres from companies belonging to realtor Lingamaneni Ramesh and Raja shekar. However, the sleuths claimed that the sale deeds were cancelled.
Elaborating, the investigators said the land banks of Lingamaneni (about 340 acres) and that of M/s Heritage were adjacent to each another. The Draft Perspective Plan, including the IRR, was designed under the guidance of Naidu and Narayana.
The CID alleged that the proposed ring road was shifted from the border of the Amaravati capital city to around 2-3 kilometres southwards towards Kaza and Kantheru villages, just adjacent to their lands.
The probe agency said the accused ensured that the lands of Lingamaneni and Heritage Foods were minimally acquired and the IRR with a 75-metre ‘right of way’ would pass just adjacent to their lands.
Further, the CID added that when the Board of Directors of Heritage Foods passed a resolution to buy the lands from Lingamaneni and others, Lokesh, one of the board members at the time, coordinated with Naidu for the purchase.
It further pointed out that the ACB court had issued ad-interim attachment orders under the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance, 1944, against the Karakatta house allegedly received by Naidu and his family members from Lingamaneni Ramesh as quid pro quo.Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh High Court will hear Naidu’s anticipatory bail petition in the IRR case on Wednesday.
House to discuss IRR case today
The State Legislative Assembly is set to take up a short discussion on ‘CRDA - Corruption in changing the alignment of Inner Ring Road’ on Wednesday