Amaravati assigned land scam: AP CID grills former minister Narayana

HYDERABAD: The Amaravati capital region assigned land scam case gathered momentum once again on Monday with the officials of the Andhra Pradesh Crime Investigation Department (AP CID) questioning former minister of the previous TDP regime Ponguru Narayana over his alleged involvement in it.

A team of the CID sleuths have reportedly been grilling Narayana at his Hyderabad residence since Monday morning. As some reports claim, simultaneous searches were also carried out at the residences of Narayana’s daughters, Sarani and Sindhura, at Lodha Apartments in Kukatpally and Fresh Living Apartments in Madhapur.

According to some reports, Narayana’s wife, an employee, who is a suspected benami, besides the owner of Ramakrishna Housing Society, were also quizzed in connection with the case. The AP CID has in the past found out that funds were funneled on a large scale from the accounts of Narayana’s business establishments to those of Ramakrishna Housing Society. Even as the CID claims that it had stumbled on key incriminating evidence in the case, it was also established in its probe that a vast extent of assigned lands were illegally purchased using benamis.

Based on its investigation, the CID also alleged that these lands were illegally purchased and, that too, outside the purview of the land-pooling system without paying any compensation to the sellers. The CID also found out in its investigation that, during the previous TDP regime, pressure was exerted on officials for the registration of assigned lands located in Mandadam, Velagapudi, Rayapudi and Uddandarayunipalem villages.

Probing the illegal purchase of about 150 acres within the Amaravati Capital region, the CID found out that Ponguru Narayana, who was a key minister in the TDP Government of Chandrababu Naidu, had allegedly bought 65.50 acres of land within the Amaravati Capital region.

In one of the transactions related to this, land worth Rs 4.2 crores was purchased allegedly by Narayana in the name of his benami Avula Munisankar. Lands were also secured in the names of Potturi Prameela and Ravu Sambasiva Rao, whom the CID suspects to be the benamis of the former Minister. It was also revealed during the investigation that large amounts of money were transferred into the accounts of the three during the time of the land transactions.

Narayana is also accused by the investigating agency of altering the alignment design of the capital region limits to allegedly benefit his own men. Close to Rs 17.5 crores have reportedly been diverted from the accounts of Narayana Educational Society, Narayana Learning Private Limited and Ramanarayana Trust. Funds were also allegedly funneled on a massive scale to the accounts of Ramakrishna Housing Society Private Limited. The AP CID accuses Narayana of using these funds, rerouted through illegal channels, to eventually pay to the farmers who had to part with their lands.