VIJAYAWADA: In the latest development in the alleged Amaravati land scam, the ACB court in Vijayawada on Tuesday refused to give immediate orders for attaching TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s guesthouse on Karakatta Road in Tadepalli.On May 12, the State government had issued an order authorising the AP Crime Investigation Department (CID) to attach the guesthouse of the former chief minister and the properties of former municipal administration minister P Narayana.
Following this, the CID had filed a petition in the ACB court on May 15, seeking attachment of the property, citing that realtor Lingamaneni Ramesh gave the guesthouse to Naidu as quid pro quo for the gains he accrued from information he received regarding the master plan and the Inner Ring Road alignment.
The court said it needs to interrogate the officer, who requested the confiscation, on whether there is sufficient evidence to attach the properties before giving any orders. The ACB court also made it clear that it has the authority to enquire into attachment of a property sought by the investigating agency.
When Lingamaneni Ramesh’s counsel informed the court that the CID sleuths did not give them documents related to the case, the court directed the probe agency to hand over the case files to the realtor.
Ramesh’s counsels Aswini Kumar and Somu Krishna Murthy argued that their client rented the guesthouse to Naidu and did not obtain any undue favours from the previous government. Further, the ACB court said it would issue orders on the attachment of the guesthouse on June 16.
In an FIR filed by the APCID in connection with the case, Lingamaneni Ramesh was named as Accused no 3. The CID said its investigation revealed that Ramesh and others had sold some part of their land at higher prices compared to 2015 after learning about the masterplan.