Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) national general secretary, Nara Lokesh, has taken legal action by applying for anticipatory bail in the Andhra Pradesh High Court concerning the ongoing Amaravati inner ring road alignment scandal.
Lokesh, identified as Accused No. 14 in the case, had his legal team file the anticipatory bail petition on his behalf this Wednesday, citing his absence from the state as he is currently in New Delhi.
The scandal revolves around alleged large-scale irregularities during the previous TDP government’s tenure, under the guise of constructing the inner ring road in the proposed capital city of Amaravati. The Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (CID) initiated an inquiry based on a complaint from YSR Congress Party MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy. The CID subsequently filed a memorandum in the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court at Vijayawada, listing TDP president N. Chandrababu Naidu as Accused No. 1, former minister P. Narayana as Accused No. 2, and Nara Lokesh as Accused No. 14.
According to the CID’s allegations, Lokesh is suspected of attempting to manipulate the inner ring road’s alignment and playing a pivotal role in the scandal, particularly during his father Chandrababu Naidu’s tenure as Chief Minister, with the purported aim of securing land for Heritage Foods, a company owned by his family. In addition to Lokesh, real estate figures Lingamaneni Ramesh and Rajasekhar, as well as Heritage Foods, were also named as accused parties in the case.
While P. Narayana has already secured anticipatory bail in connection with the case, Lokesh has now turned to the High Court, seeking similar protection from potential arrest.
