Amaravat: A local court in Vijayawadahas closed a case filed against Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu over his alleged involvement in the misappropriation of funds from the APSSDC, which, according to the case, caused a loss of over Rs 300 crore to the state exchequer.

Naidu had spent more than 50 days in the Rajamahendravaram Central Prison before the Andhra High Court granted him bail on October 31, 2023.

Andhra Pradesh Advocate General Dammalapati Srinivas said the investigating agency found no involvement of the CM and accordingly filed a memo before the court, which was accepted by the judicial officer.

“After completing the investigation, the agency filed a closure report stating that there was no substance in the case regarding Naidu’s role. The court accepted it on Monday,” Srinivas told PTI.

Naidu was arrested in the case on September 9, 2023, when YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy was the CM.

Following Naidu’s arrest, then CID chief N Sanjay had said the investigation had implicated Naidu and the TDP as beneficiaries of the alleged misappropriation of funds.

The Andhra PradeshState Skill Development Corporation case pertains to the setting up of clusters of Centres of Excellence (CoEs), with the total project cost estimated at Rs 3,300 crore. However, it allegedly resulted in a loss exceeding Rs 300 crore to the state government, Sanjay had said.

He had also stated that before the private entities involved in the project could spend any money, the state government released an advance of Rs 371 crore, amounting to 10 per cent of its financial commitment.

According to Sanjay, the funds released by the state government were allegedly diverted to shell companies through fake invoices, with no actual delivery or sale of the items mentioned. Some of the shell companies were reportedly based in Singapore.

Sanjay had further claimed that Naidu’s influence over witnesses and other accused had come on record, making his arrest necessary given his position, and alleged that the former chief minister was attempting to hamper the investigation and tamper with evidence.

After Naidu became the CM, Sanjay was arrested on charges of misappropriation and misuse of public funds related to the case. He was later granted bail.

Meanwhile, senior YSRCPleader and former minister K Kannababu accused the TDP-led NDA government of “influencing investigating agencies and systematically closing cases” registered against Naidu.

Kannababu alleged that Naidu was setting a “dangerous precedent” by using official machinery to shut down cases “under the pretext of mistakes of fact,” thereby “undermining institutional credibility.”

Referring to the skill development case, Kannababu said in a statement that although Naidu had gone to jail in the matter, the case was later weakened and closed, along with seven other cases, allegedly due to fear of Reddy.

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