CID Notice To TDP Chief Chandrababu's Son Nara Lokesh In Inner Ring Road Case, Party Leaders Protest

TDP leader Nara Lokesh had filed an anticipatory bail plea after the CID filed a memo before the trial court over his alleged connection in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road case.

New Delhi: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Saturday issued notice to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) National General Secretary Nara Lokesh over his alleged connection in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road (IRR) case. He is expected to reply on October 4. “We served notice. He responded, and he will attend on October,” news agency ANI quoted CID DGP as saying.

According to reports, the TDP leader had filed an anticipatory bail plea after the CID filed a memo before the trial court over his alleged connection in the Amaravati Inner Ring Road case.

The development comes a day after the Andhra Pradesh High Court restrained the CID police from arresting Lokesh in the case relating to Skill Development Corporation Scam till October 4, news agency PTI reported.

Meanwhile, Nara Lokesh and his supporters staged a protest at the residence of TDP MP Jayadev Galla in Delhi after Andhra Pradesh CID served notice in the Inner Ring Road case, ANI reported.

"It has been close to 20 days that former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has been sent to judicial remand. It is nothing but revenge. The facts of the case are very clear, there is no money trail because no crime has been committed. This government has misused their office," Nara Lokesh said while speaking to the media.

During the hearing on an anticipatory bail plea filed by the TDP leader, the CID told the court that Lokesh was not named as an accused in the case yet. The probe agency said that there was no merit in the anticipatory bail petition as Lokesh himself had submitted that he was not an accused in the case.

According to the report, Lokesh is currently in Delhi and he has been holding consultations with legal experts in connection with cases lodged against his father and party chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

Meanwhile, Naidu’s bail plea in the Inner Ring Road case also came up before the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday. His counsels argued that the case was registered against Naidu due to 'political vendetta' and said that the bail plea filed under Section 439 of CrPC should be considered, as per the PTI report. The probe agency observed that the case is a 'deep rooted' economic offence with conspiracy.

Naidu has also filed a bail application in the FiberNet scam case in the High Court. It has been scheduled for hearing on October 4, PTI reported.