Jagan govt orders CBI probe into Amaravati land scam

Amaravati, March 23 (IANS) The Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh here on Monday entrusted to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases of alleged irregularities committed during the previous TDP government while designating Amaravati as new state capital.

The order, by the Home Department, accorded permission to the CBI to carry out investigations under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. The CBI will probe alleged irregularities by persons officiating while designating the new capital area.

A special investigation team (SIT), which probed the irregularities, found that the funds were channelised by certain people outside AP and even abroad.

“Owing to the high profile nature of the accused involved and the need to carry out investigation in the inter-state and international areas, it was felt that this is a fit subject to be investigated by a national agency such as the CBI,” said an official release.

After coming to power in May 2019, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) alleged the previous TDP government, headed by N. Chandrababu Naidu, resorted to ‘insider trading’ by leaking out information about the location of the new capital to the TDP leaders and those close to them. They purchased huge tracts of land in and around Amaravati at cheap rates.

The government in June 2019 set up a cabinet sub-committee, which found that public servants at the head of affairs in the last government misused and abused their positions to pre-determine the new capital’s location and subsequently purchased lands to unjustly and illegally benefit their associates, companies, businesses, family members and/or political party members.

–IANS

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