VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (APCID) filed a revision petition in the High Court on Friday challenging the ACB special court order refusing remand of GVS Bhaskar, a former employee of Siemens Industrial Software Private Limited (SISW).
It may be noted that Bhaskar is an accused in the alleged multi-crore AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) scam. He was arrested in Noida and was brought to Vijayawada on a transit warrant on Thursday. Later, he was produced before the ACB special court in Vijayawada.
After examining the remand report, the special judge said that Section 409 did not apply to the accused and that CBI could proceed by issuing notices under Section 41 (A). At the request of Additional Advocate General Ponnavolu Sudhakar Reddy, Justice BS Bhanumathi allowed the revision petition as the lunch motion petition at 4 pm. After hearing Sudhakar’s argument, which lasted for nearly 40 minutes, the judge adjourned the case to March 14.
Sudhakar argued that with an intention to amass crores of rupees from the State exchequer, leaders in the previous government in a pre-planned manner resorted to the AP State Skill Development Corporation scam. He said GVS Bhaskar played a vital role in the manipulation of the estimates and valuation of the project.
“While preparing the project report, he along with the other co-accused, artificially inflated the valuation of the Siemens’ skill development programme to Rs 3,300 crore. This was meant for diverting the funds,” he argued in the court.
“Once the agreement between APSSDC and SISW was finalised, as part of conspiracy, Bhaskar’s wife, an IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was transferred to AP on inter-state transfer and made the Deputy CEO of APSSDC,” Reddy added.
The additional advocate general said given the role of Bhaskar, CID arrested him and registered cases under Sections 409 and 120 (B) after bringing him on a transit warrant, but the magistrate of the ACB special court treated the case mechanically and stated that Section 409 was not applicable in the case.
“Which section is applicable and which is not should be decided in the final hearing after the chargesheet is filed. But today, it has become a trend in the lower courts to conduct a mini trial and refuse remand. High Court needs to take the matter seriously,” he said.
Sudhakar Reddy further said 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 allegedly diverted to shell companies, he added.
He brought to the notice of the court that when Pune GST officials exposed the scam, they alerted the then State government, but no action was taken. Later, based on the complaint of APSSDC chairman, CID registered a case.