Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu was named the main accused in the chargesheet filed by Crime Investigation Department (CID) in connection to the Fibernet Phase-1 Project scam case on Friday.
The chargesheet was filed in the Amravati ACB court. Besides Naidu, the CID named V Hari Krishna Prasad, managing director, Net India, Hyderabad and K Sambasiva Rao, IRTS officer, as the other accused persons, the CID said in a statement.
“Naidu, the then chief minister, was holding the portfolio of the energy, infrastructure and investment department. He personally recommended getting the fiber net project executed…,” said the CID in the statement on the alleged tender manipulation case which occurred during the erstwhile TDP government between 2014 and 2019.
It said the tender process was manipulated to allot work order of the Phase – 1 of the AP Fibernet Project of Rs 330 crore to a favoured company. According to the CID, several alleged irregularities took place from allotting of tender to completion of the total project, resulting in a huge loss to the exchequer.
As per the CID chargesheet, Naidu had approved the estimate of the Fibernet project without considering the fact that no market survey was done for the prices of the items or the standards to be followed.
Further, the CID noted that the former CM allegedly pressurised senior government officials to include Hari Krishna Prasad in various tender evaluation committees, revoke the blacklisting of Terasoftware Pvt Ltd and ultimately award the tender to the same company, among other irregularities.
Moreover, the CID highlighted that the accused persons allegedly channelised the misappropriated funds through a web of companies allegedly belonging to their associates using fake invoices. The accused persons were booked under IPC Sections 166, 167, 418, 465, 468, 471, 409 and 506 read with 120 – B and others.
(With inputs from agencies)
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