VIJAYAWADA: In a major breakthrough in the alleged multi-crore AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) scam, the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (APCID) arrested GVS Bhaskar, a former employee of Siemens Industrial Software Private Limited (SISW) at Noida in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. The accused is being brought to Vijayawada by CID officials on a transit warrant.
CID officials had arrested three accused — former managing director of Siemens Industry Software (India) Private Limited Soumyadri Shekhar Bose alias Suman Bose, chairman and managing director of Pune-based Design Tech System Limited Vikas Vinayak Khanvalkar and chief operating officer of Skiller Enterprises India Private Limited Mukul Agarwal, in December 2021.
When CID sleuths contacted Siemens’ German headquarters as part of their probe, authorities clarified in writing to CID and APSSDC that Suman Bose acted on his own without keeping the management or the legal team informed about the agreements being made. They said he had concealed facts about his involvement with certain shell companies. Following this, his services from the firm were terminated.
According to official sources, while preparing the project report, GVS Bhaskar and another co-accused had resorted to artificially inflating the estimates and valuation of Siemens skill development programme to Rs 3,300 crore. This created an obligation of Rs 371 crore on the State government, as it had to pay 10% of the cost of the project, they added.
Though the cost of the software supplied by Siemens Industrial Software Private Limited was invoiced at just Rs 58 crore (without any discount), Bhaskar manipulated the estimates of the project to make the figures touch Rs 3,300 crore.
The government orders regarding the Siemens skill development programme envisaged that the technology partners would contribute 90% of the cost of the project. However, Bhaskar and the other co-accused in the case allegedly conspired with the officials of the then State government to manipulate the Memorandum of Understanding in such a manner that the words indicated as if Siemens and DesignTech where being given a work order worth Rs 371 crore.
Sources said the valuation of the project and obligation of the technology partners to contribute 90% of the project cost were left out deliberately.As soon as negotiations began between the technology partners and the Government of Andhra Pradesh regarding the implementation of the skill development programme, Bhaskar colluded with Ganta Subba Rao, main accused in the case, who was the MD and CEO of APSSDC at that time to get his wife U Aparna on inter-cadre deputation to Andhra Pradesh and also to get her posted as the Deputy CEO of APSSDC, sources added.
Aparna is a 2001 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. The couple did not report about this conflict of interest to the government at any stage of implementation of the project.According to sources, when the APSSDC officials sought an evaluation of the project by a third party as a precondition for the release of the funds to the technology partners, Bhaskar reached out to the officials of the Central Institute of Tools Design (CITD) and managed to manipulate the report given by the organisation in favour of the co-accused and himself. Later, he moved to Aptus Healthcare, the firm which was identified as a shell company to siphon off funds in collusion with DesignTech, Skillar by the Central tax authorities.
YSRC attacks Naidu
Meanwhile, YSRC party alleged that the then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and few other officials were involved in the scam. The ruling party accused the officials of releasing funds at the behest of Naidu, despite objections being raised.MD and CEO of APSSDC Ganta Subbarao, and former IAS officer K Lakshminarayana, who was the director of APSSDC at the time, were reportedly involved in the scam.
Sources said during CID investigation, it was found that SISW and Design Tech had not spent a single rupee from their own resources on the project. In fact, they siphoned off a major portion of funds contributed by the State government, its share for the 10% of the project cost, amounting to Rs 371 crore. The money was diverted to shell companies like Allied Computers, Skillers India Pvt Ltd, Knowledge Podium, Cadence Partners, and ETA Greens.
IAS officer Sunita, the then finance secretary, did not agree to the release of funds stating that it was against the rules. In the note file, she listed three objections — such a large-scale estimated project should be tested on pilot basis in a few districts before a decision is made; it is incorrect to release government share funding without first establishing the Siemens Business Center of Excellence; of the 90% of the share that was to be funded by the Siemens Corporation not a single penny has been spent.
However, Sunita’s objections were dismissed by the higher officials, who allegedly followed the then CM Chandrababu Naidu’s directions and had the funds released to SISW and Design Tech.