Skill development scam: CID moves HC against rejection of remand to Bhaskar

VIJAYAWADA: The AP Crime Investigation Department has challenged the ACB special court’s order rejecting a plea for remand of skill development scam accused G.V.S. Bhaskar. In this connection, the CID moved a lunch motion in the AP High Court here on Friday.

A single-judge bench of Justice Bhanumathi heard the revision petition filed by a CID DSP and posted the next hearing to March 14.

Additional advocate general Ponnavolu Sudhakar, representing the CID, submitted to the court that the Siemens Industry Software Private Ltd’s former employee, Bhaskar, played a key role to jack up the cost of the project to `3,356 crore. “He conspired along with the top leaders in the previous Telugu Desam government to siphon off money.”

CID counsel argued that the ACB special court rejected the CID’s plea for remand of Bhaskar by saying section 409 of IPC was not applicable in the present case. “The ACB court should make out which section was applicable or not only after completion of the inquiry in the case and filing of a charge sheet, and while taking up final hearing in the case. This should not be done at the time of seeking a remand of the accused,” counsel said.

Counsel submitted to the court that the CID should take Bhaskar into custody to interrogate him in order to find out who all were involved in the multi crore scam.

The CID arrested Bhaskar in Pune, Noida, on March 7, brought him to Vijayawada on transit warrant and produced him before ACB special court on Thursday. The ACB special judge, after examining the remand report, said that section 409 of IPC was not applicable to the accused Bhaskar in this case and hence rejected the plea for his remand. It directed the CID to serve notice to the accused under section 41 (A) CrPC to continue the probe in the case.